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Measurement
Measurement
Measurement is the determination of the size
or magnitude of something. Measurement is not limited to physical quantities,
but can extend to quantifying almost any imaginable thing such as degree of
uncertainty,
consumer confidence, or the rate of increase in the fall in the price of
beanie babies.
In
physics and
engineering, measurement is the
process of comparing
physical quantities of real-world
objects and
events. Established standard objects and events are used as
units,
and the measurement results in at least two
numbers for the relationship between the item under study and the referenced
unit of measurement, where at least one number estimates the
statistical uncertainty in the measurement.
Measuring instruments are the means by which this translation is made.
Metrology is the study of measurement.
A
metric is a standard for measurement. The quantification of phenomena
through the process of measurement relies on the existence of an explicit or
implicit metric, which is the standard to which the measure is referenced. If I
say I am '5', I am indicating a measurement without conveying an applicable
standard. I may mean I am 5 years old, 5 feet high, or 5-time world raquetball
champion.
Measuring physical quantities accurately is important in
science,
engineering and
commerce.
For example, the unit for length might be a well-known
person's foot, and the length of a boat can be given as the number of times that
person's foot would fit the length of the boat.
Laws
to regulate measurement were originally developed to prevent
fraud. However, units of measurement are now generally defined on a
scientific basis, and are established by international treaties.
The history of measurements is a topic within the
History of Science and Technology. The
meter was standardized as the unit for length after the
French revolution, and has since been adopted throughout most of the world.
The United States and the UK are in the process of converting to the SI system.
This process is known as
metrication.
Systems of measurement:
Measuring the ratios between physical quantities is an
important sub-field of
physics.
Some important physical quantities include:
See also:
Home | Up | Scientific Method | Physical Quantity | Measurement | Measuring Instruments | Dimensional Analysis | Statistics
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