Measuring instrument

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In physics and engineering, measurement is the activity of comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. Established standard objects and events are used as units, and the measurement results in a given number for the relationship between the item under study and the referenced unit of measurement. Measuring instruments are the means by which this translation is made. All measuring instruments are subject to varying degrees of instrument error.

Physicists use a vast range of instruments to perform their measurements. These range from simple objects such as rulers and stopwatches to electron microscopes and particle accelerators. Virtual instrumentation is widely used in the development of modern measuring instruments.

Contents 1 Mass 2 Time 3 Length (i.e., distance) 4 Area 5 Angle 6 Temperature 7 Humidity 8 Pressure 9 Flow measurement 10 pH 11 Level 12 Radiation 13 Sound 14 Light 15 Speed 16 Torque 17 Electronic test equipment 18 Hardness 19 Density 20 Uncategorized 21 Notes 22 See also

[edit] Mass

• Balance
• Weighing scales
• Mass spectrometer
• Katharometer

[edit] Time

• Calendar
• Chronometer
• Clock
• Atomic clock
• Radiometric dating

Timeline of time measurement technology

[edit] Length (i.e., distance)

• Altimeter (measures height)
• Architect's scale
• Caliper
• Engineer's scale
• Gauge blocks
• Interferometer
• Micrometer
• Odometer
• Opisometer
• Rule
• Tape measure
• Laser rangefinder
• Ultrasound distance measure
• GPS
• Electronic distance meter
• Surveyor's wheel

[edit] Area

• Planimeter

[edit] Angle

• Cross staff
• Quadrant
• Reflecting instruments
  • Octant
  • Sextant
  • Reflecting circles
• Repeating circles
• Protractor
• Theodolite
• Graphometer
• Circumferentor

[edit] Temperature

• Thermometer
• Thermocouples
• Thermistors
• Pyrometers
• Electromagnetic spectroscopy

[edit] Humidity

• Hygrometer

[edit] Pressure

• Barometer
• Manometer
• Pitot tube (used to determine speed)
• Anemometer (used to determine wind speed)
• Tire-pressure gauge
• Sphygmomanometer (used to determine Blood pressure)

[edit] Flow measurement

• Water Meter
• Gas Meter
• Metering pump
• Mass flow meter

[edit] pH

[edit] Level

• Spirit level
• Laser line level
• Dumpy level
• Tiltmeter

[edit] Radiation

• Geiger counter
• Nichols radiometer

[edit] Sound

• Sound level meter

[edit] Light

• Photometer
• Spectrometer

[edit] Speed

• Speedometer
• Tachometer (speed of rotation)
• Airspeed indicator

[edit] Torque

• De Prony brake

[edit] Electronic test equipment

These are instruments used for measuring electrical properties. Also see meter (electronics).

• Electrometer (measures charge)
• Ammeter (measures electrical current)
• Galvanometer (measures current)
• Ohmmeter (measures resistance)
• Voltmeter (measures voltage)
• Wheatstone bridge
• Multimeter (measures all of the above)
• Oscilloscope
• Watt meter (measures power)
• Electric energy meter (measures energy)
• Electricity meter (measures kWh usage)

[edit] Hardness

• Durometer

[edit] Density

• Aerometer
• Pycnometer

[edit] Uncategorized

• Colorimeter (measures absorbance, and thus concentration)
• Radiometry
• Microscope
• Spectroscope is an important tool used by physicists.
• Densitometer measures light transmission through processed photographic film or transparent material or light reflection from a reflective material.
• Force platform measures ground reaction force
• Postage meter measures postage used from a prepaid account.
• Parking meter measures time a vehicle is parked at a particular spot, usually with a fee.

[edit] Notes

Note that the alternate spelling "-metre" is never used when referring to a measuring device.

[edit] See also

• History of weights and measures
• List of measuring devices for a more comprehensive, alphabetical list of devices
• Timeline of temperature and pressure measurement technology
• Category:Medical testing equipment lists specialized measuring instrumentsca:Aparell de mesura

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