Traditsiooniline kangkaal koosneb kahest plaadist või kausist, mis on asetatud tugipunktist võrdsetel kaugustel, kus ühes kausis on tundmatu massiga objekt, samal ajal kui teadaoleva massi objektid, mida nimetatakse kaaluvihtideks, lisatakse teise kaussi, kuni saavutatakse staatiline tasakaal, mis juhtub siis, kui kahe kaalukausi massid on võrdsed.
The traditional beam balance consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal distances from a fulcrum. One plate holds an object of unknown mass, while objects of known mass, called weights, are added to the other plate until static equilibrium is achieved and the plates level off, which happens when the masses on the two plates are equal.
