What is this used for?

[scienceclubnerd]

Found the pictured item in my backroom several years ago and have had years of students asking what it's for and I do not have an answer for them.  Can anyone help me, this is from Sargent Welch and has no paperwork with it.  It sits at an angle and has a weight in the red portion and the red portion is able to be disattached.  It obviously is for some kind of demo, I presume center of gravity or something but would like more information.  

Thanks.

[studiot]

9 minutes ago, scienceclubnerd said:

Found the pictured item in my backroom several years ago and have had years of students asking what it's for and I do not have an answer for them.  Can anyone help me, this is from Sargent Welch and has no paperwork with it.  It sits at an angle and has a weight in the red portion and the red portion is able to be disattached.  It obviously is for some kind of demo, I presume center of gravity or something but would like more information.  

Thanks.

 

Try asking these people.

Try emailing their education officer or pub relations officer.

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/SILNMAHTL_38460

[StringJunky]

Could it be some sort of reference target.

[TheVat]

https://www.sargentwelch.com/cms/contact_product_support

 

I've never had much luck with identifying tech mystery objects unless I contact the company and ask for an archivist or technical librarian.  I think it's a center of gravity experiment, as you do.  Why Google Images fails on this is that it's too old as an active marketed item to have been uploaded,  and not yet an interesting antique so a collector hasn't put it up on a hobby site or at auction.   

[studiot]

18 minutes ago, TheVat said:

I think it's a center of gravity experiment, as you do. 

Could be though I can't think of one that we do in the UK syllabus.

1 hour ago, scienceclubnerd said:

It sits at an angle and has a weight in the red portion and the red portion is able to be disattached.  It obviously is for some kind of demo, I presume center of gravity or something but would like more information.  

You could also supply more information, like is it solid or hollow.
What is is made of
and so on.

The link I gave was of the Smithsonian

 

An alternative use might possibly be as part of a sundial or for optical investigations into shadows.