A penetrometer is a device to test the strength of a
material
Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geolo ...
.
Soil
There are many types of penetrometer designed to be used on soil. They are usually round or cone shaped. The penetrometer is dropped on the test subject or pressed against it and the depth of the resulting hole is measured. The measurements find whether the soil is strong enough to build a road on. Scientists also use a penetrometer to measure how much
moisture
Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Small amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in some commercial products. Moisture also refers to the amount of water vapo ...
is in soil. Penetrometers are used by
space probes
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually conside ...
such as the
Cassini–Huygens probe, to measure the amount of moisture in soil on other planets. Penetrometers are furthermore used in glaciology to measure the strength and nature of materials underlying a glacier at its bed.
A penetrometer is also used in longer professional
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
matches, to measure how the
pitch is holding up over the course of a multi-day match.
British
horse racing courses have been required, since 2009, to report the readings obtained using a penetrometer designed by
Cranfield University and TurfTrax, known as the GoingStick, on each day of a race meeting.
Botany
A penetrometer may be used in
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
to find the toughness of a leaf by measuring the force needed to punch a hole of a certain size through the leaf.
Penetrometers are also used to measure the firmness of
apples
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
and other hard fruit.
Science
Penetrometers equipped with a known needle and mass are used to determine the hardness of
bitumen and thus its efficacy and material properties when applied to roads as
asphalt concrete.
Food Products
Penetrometers are used for objective evaluation of food products. Penetrometers, equipped with a plunger and a needle or cone, penetrate
food samples through gravitational force for a selected period of time. The distance the test device penetrates into the sample is measured to determine the relative tenderness of the samples such as baked products and gels.
External links
University of Arizona document, "An impact penetrometer for a landing spacecraft."
*[https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_48847_aportablepenetrometerformeasur1884 Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, "A portable penetrometer for measuring leaf toughness in insect herbivory studies."]
References
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Measuring instruments