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The plumb bob, or plummet, is one of our oldest construction tools, dating back at least back to ancient Egypt. It consists of a weight, usually with a pointed tip, suspended from a string, and is used to find a vertical reference line, or plumb-line. A spirit level is typically used for this purpose now, but some old timers still hold fast to their plumb bobs. The name derives from Latin plumbum ('lead'), the material once used for the weighted bob. This one is made of brass and steel, with a steel screw on top that holds the line.
Why bother establishing a plumb line in the first place? Who cares if buildings stand perfectly straight? It all has to do with gravitational force. The core of the Earth is the most massive thing in our immediate area, drawing everything towards it, from the plumb bob to that tortilla chip you just dropped on the floor. If you build your building slightly askew, gravity is going to want to pull it down. But if the construction is perfectly in line with the vector of gravitational force, every part, from the foundation up, will work to resist gravity— that relentless agent of entropy.
The plumb bob, or plummet, is one of our oldest construction tools, dating back at least back to ancient Egypt. It consists of a weight, usually with a pointed tip, suspended from a string, and is used to find a vertical reference line, or plumb-line. A spirit level is typically used for this purpose now, but some old timers still hold fast to their plumb bobs. The name derives from Latin plumbum ('lead'), the material once used for the weighted bob. This one is made of brass and steel, with a steel screw on top that holds the line.
Why bother establishing a plumb line in the first place? Who cares if buildings stand perfectly straight? It all has to do with gravitational force. The core of the Earth is the most massive thing in our immediate area, drawing everything towards it, from the plumb bob to that tortilla chip you just dropped on the floor. If you build your building slightly askew, gravity is going to want to pull it down. But if the construction is perfectly in line with the vector of gravitational force, every part, from the foundation up, will work to resist gravity— that relentless agent of entropy.