Abstract: The mass of an object dropped through a capacitive sensing transducer having a pair of spaced plates is determined independently of the spatial orientation of the object as it passes through the transducer, and independently of whether the object is entirely within the transducer at any instant. The transducer generates an output proportional to the instantaneous change in capacitance between the spaced plates caused by the sample passing therethrough. When the sample is a powder, the transducer output is integrated, and a correction factor is subtracted from the integral for correcting for temperature drift and for accumulation of minute particles of the powder on the plates. The spaced plates can be formed in a substantially 90.degree. twist; or, the transducer may be in the form of a plurality of pairs of spaced plates, each pair being oriented at a different angle with respect to the path of a sample through the transducer.