266
[the VIM does not define this concept; in the specific case of quantities, it uses
“quantity” [1.1] or “individual quantity”].
12. Empirical property (2.2): A general property whose instances are identified as
modes of empirical interaction of objects with their context/environment, where
the identification happens under the conditions that (i) an object may empirically interact with its context/environment in multiple modes, and each mode of
interaction is considered to correspond to one property of the object, and (ii)
some objects are comparable with respect to some of their properties, and
sometimes distinct objects are discovered to have empirically indistinguishable
properties [the VIM does not define this concept].
13. Object under measurement (2.2): An object which has a property which is the
target of a measurement [the VIM does not define this concept].
14. Property under measurement (2.2): A property of an object that is an instance
of the general property intended to be measured in a given measurement. The
individual property intended to be measured, i.e., the measurand, and the individual property with which the measuring instrument interacts, i.e., the effective property, may not be the same: by acknowledging the ambiguity of the
specification “to be under measurement” (and also “measured”) both are called
“properties under measurement” [the VIM does not define this concept].
15. Measurand, intended property (2.3): A property of an object intended to be
measured, and to which the measured values resulting from the measurement
are attributed. Lacking a distinct term, we also use “measurand” to refer to the
general property of which such property of an object is an instance. In the general case, the measurand and the effective property are distinct individual properties [the VIM has a definition of this concept [2.3], but only for quantities].
16. Effective property (2.3): A property of an object, of the same kind as the measurand, with which the measuring instrument actually interacts. In the general
case, the effective property and the measurand are distinct individual properties
[the VIM does not define this concept, and uses sometimes “quantity being
measured”].
17. Reference property (2.3): A properly identified individual property chosen for
comparisons with properties of objects of the same kind. In the case of ratio
quantities the unit is an example of a reference property. For operational purposes, reference properties are chosen to be properties of reference objects [the
VIM does not define this concept].
18. Reference object, measurement standard (3.3.1): An object that carries a reference property, associated with a value and usually an uncertainty in a scale,
typically used in traceability chains to calibrate other measurement standards or
measuring instruments [a generalization of the VIM definition [5.1], which only
applies to quantities].
19. Scale of properties (2.3): A set of distinguishable reference properties for a
general property together with their values. Hence formally a scale is a triple
({p i }, {p i }, f), where f is the invertible function p i = f(p i ) that maps each reference property p i to a corresponding value p i . For example, the scale of length in
metres is such that 1 m = f(the length identified as the metre) and the traditional
Appendix A: A basic concept system of measurement
[the VIM does not define this concept; in the specific case of quantities, it uses
“quantity” [1.1] or “individual quantity”].
12. Empirical property (2.2): A general property whose instances are identified as
modes of empirical interaction of objects with their context/environment, where
the identification happens under the conditions that (i) an object may empirically interact with its context/environment in multiple modes, and each mode of
interaction is considered to correspond to one property of the object, and (ii)
some objects are comparable with respect to some of their properties, and
sometimes distinct objects are discovered to have empirically indistinguishable
properties [the VIM does not define this concept].
13. Object under measurement (2.2): An object which has a property which is the
target of a measurement [the VIM does not define this concept].
14. Property under measurement (2.2): A property of an object that is an instance
of the general property intended to be measured in a given measurement. The
individual property intended to be measured, i.e., the measurand, and the individual property with which the measuring instrument interacts, i.e., the effective property, may not be the same: by acknowledging the ambiguity of the
specification “to be under measurement” (and also “measured”) both are called
“properties under measurement” [the VIM does not define this concept].
15. Measurand, intended property (2.3): A property of an object intended to be
measured, and to which the measured values resulting from the measurement
are attributed. Lacking a distinct term, we also use “measurand” to refer to the
general property of which such property of an object is an instance. In the general case, the measurand and the effective property are distinct individual properties [the VIM has a definition of this concept [2.3], but only for quantities].
16. Effective property (2.3): A property of an object, of the same kind as the measurand, with which the measuring instrument actually interacts. In the general
case, the effective property and the measurand are distinct individual properties
[the VIM does not define this concept, and uses sometimes “quantity being
measured”].
17. Reference property (2.3): A properly identified individual property chosen for
comparisons with properties of objects of the same kind. In the case of ratio
quantities the unit is an example of a reference property. For operational purposes, reference properties are chosen to be properties of reference objects [the
VIM does not define this concept].
18. Reference object, measurement standard (3.3.1): An object that carries a reference property, associated with a value and usually an uncertainty in a scale,
typically used in traceability chains to calibrate other measurement standards or
measuring instruments [a generalization of the VIM definition [5.1], which only
applies to quantities].
19. Scale of properties (2.3): A set of distinguishable reference properties for a
general property together with their values. Hence formally a scale is a triple
({p i }, {p i }, f), where f is the invertible function p i = f(p i ) that maps each reference property p i to a corresponding value p i . For example, the scale of length in
metres is such that 1 m = f(the length identified as the metre) and the traditional
Appendix A: A basic concept system of measurement