Bilance

Bilance is the Italian plural form of bilancia, meaning a device used to measure mass—scales or balances. The term is used across Italian-speaking contexts to refer to both traditional mechanical balances and modern electronic scales. In a bilancia a piatti, a horizontal beam is balanced on a fulcrum with two pans at each end; known weights are placed on one pan and the object on the other to determine mass. Modern bilance include bilance elettroniche or bilance digitali, which provide mass readings on a display without the need to balance weights.

In laboratories, the highest-precision instruments are bilance analitiche, featuring enclosed casings to reduce air currents and vibrations. In commerce and everyday life, less precise scales are used for weighing produce and goods, and must be calibrated with standard weights to ensure accuracy. In Italy, instruments used for trade can be subject to metrological controls and may require certification as legal-for-trade devices.

The plural bilance is commonly used when referring to multiple instruments, while the singular bilancia is used to denote any balance in general. Phrases such as mettere in bilancia are used to express the act of weighing or evaluating something. In English, the cognate terms are balance or scale; in Italian, bilancia refers to the instrument, while bilancio denotes a financial statement. Thus bilance covers a range from kitchen scales to laboratory balances within Italian usage.