looking for moment of inertia measurement instruments

[Sandra Nauwelaerts]

Dear Biomch-L readers:

Does anyone know of a relatively low-cost commercially available instrument
that measures weight, center of gravity and moment of inertia? We are
planning to measure segmental moments of inertia in horses, which would make
it necessary for the instrument to have a wide range: the segments go from a
few kg up to 300 kg for the trunk segment.

Since the segments can weigh quite a lot, I don't want to use a pendulum. I
think a more practical way would be a rotating table-like instrument. I have
been talking to space-electronics in Berlin (USA), who uses an inverted
torsion pendulum technique to measure the MOI which would be an ideal
technique but their instruments are quite expensive. Does anyone have such
an instrument that they are willing to let us borrow or lease for a few
months?

Thanks,
Sandra Nauwelaerts

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Sandra Nauwelaerts, PhD
Research Associate
McPhail Equine Performance Center
Michigan State University
Ph 517-432-5927
http://webh01.ua.ac.be/funmorph/sandra
http://cvm.msu.edu/dressage/
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