Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Clinometer: Three Occupations That Use This Device

By Carey Bourdier


While you probably thought that you'd never really use your math skills, we actually use them every day to measure and calculate. For some jobs, honing your measurement skills is as essential as is learning how to use a myriad of helpful optical tools and mathematical devices. For instance, many people have to use a device called a clinometer or inclinometer to measure the elevation of angles. Angle measurement is important for all types of jobs, including the following professions.

1. Safe Sailing Is Easier With A Clinometer

For those who own a sailboat or power boat or for the captains of large commercial or military vessels, the clinometer can be very handy to have around. While there is no shortage these days of helpful electronic gear, if you should lose power for any reason or there is some type of satellite or radio interference, being able to use a clinometer can help you identify weather issues that might be developing. Obviously, the weather has a huge effect on your safety when you are out in open water.

Learning how to use a clinometer, combined with some general knowledge of meteorology can be a boon if you are without working instrumentation. The clinometer can help you measure cloud height. Different types of clouds form at different elevations and these clouds indicate unique weather conditions. Changes in cloud height also can be important to note as these can indicate weather changes. By watching cloud movement, you can determine where a squall might be moving. For instance, when a cumulus cloud starts to quickly increase its vertical height, this can mean that a thunderstorm could occur. So when you see puffy cumulus clouds transform into a more vertical cumulonimbus formation, this could mean that heavy rain, lighting and high winds are coming.

2. The Forester & The Clinometer

In Medieval times, foresters were the guardians of the forest keeping track of game, getting rid of poachers, and organizing hunting excursions as well as land management. These days, foresters don't deal with poachers; rather they ensure that a forest is sustainably managed. It might be a forest where timber is harvested or a forest that is part of protected federal or state land.

In order to manage a forest, these foresters have to collect plenty of information about the plant life and animals that live in the forest. Rather than study the entire forest, they will study sample areas, assuming that conditions are similar throughout the forest. The clinometer is an important tool for foresters because it allows them to be able to measure tree height. They stand 50 feet from the base of a tree and hold the clinometer at eye level, and the clinometer will tell them the angle of elevation. From there, simple calculations are used to understand tree height.

3. Clinometers Are A Tool Of Geologists

Geology is a branch of science primarily concerned with studying the many materials that make up the earth. Geologists study many features of the earth, such as rock formations and mountains, making note of changes that have occurred over time. During field studies, a geologist might record a variety of data, and this includes measuring the heights of rock walls, large rocks and mountains. A clinometer is the handy tool that helps them measure these heights, just as the forester uses the clinometer to gauge the height of trees in a forest.




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