1.1 Metrology in General
3
Measurements have been carried out and used by humans for thousands of years.
In order to make them relevant, a property values are compared with values of those
properties for accepted standards, accompanied by a priori established limits, within
which the properties can differ as a result of errors in measurement. In practice,
measuring includes establishing accepted standards, comparing the properties of
standards to the properties of studied objects, and establishing the accepted range
of variation of results of individual measurements. Without measurements, it is hard
to imagine the development of industry, transport, trade, as well as scientific fields
such as physics, chemistry, mechanics, astronomy, thermodynamics, electronics, and
many others, in which measurement allows verification of scientific hypotheses.
The development of technology often requires an extensive volume of information.
As such, it is not just a single measurement that is required but also information on a
numerous set of properties of an object or of a large number of objects. As a result,
there is also a need to determine and register not only the properties of the object,
but also the its variability with time, the direction of the changes, predictions of the
properties, the recognition of the images, and so on. The results of measurements
of various properties were always the basis of settlement between people and were
a part of everyday practice in society. Hence for a long time, people did not feel
the need to create the theoretical superstructure. In practice, all they needed was the
empirical knowledge of how to perform measurements to ascertain the numerical
characterization of given items.
In fact, metrology, the science of measurements, has a crucial role in the
development of society. Like any science, it is not only concerned with material objects but also with abstractions relating to the entire class of object
properties. Metrology as such is a relatively newly recognized science, and at
its core is the theoretical—mostly mathematical—establishment of measuring
principles. Metrology, dealing with the theory of measurements, aims to discover measuring challenges and new cognitive issues. Defining units of measurement, implementation of units of measurement, and last but not least setting chains between standards are among the most important tasks of metrology.
Surveying, also known as a practical activity towards measuring the properties
deals with the practical aspects of metrology—the technicalities of the evaluation
of the material world’s overview. It is, hence, the part of technology of a service
character, which determines the development of science and technology to a great
extent, and it involves almost all aspects of human activity.
• Measurement is a technique of evaluating the properties of objects from the
material world.
• Metrology is the science around the principles of measurement.
In this book, most topics refer exclusively to metrology, with a strong focus on the
measurement of chemical properties of objects. In the following chapters, the scope
of discussion around metrology includes the theory of the units of measurement and
the methods of their reproduction.
3
Measurements have been carried out and used by humans for thousands of years.
In order to make them relevant, a property values are compared with values of those
properties for accepted standards, accompanied by a priori established limits, within
which the properties can differ as a result of errors in measurement. In practice,
measuring includes establishing accepted standards, comparing the properties of
standards to the properties of studied objects, and establishing the accepted range
of variation of results of individual measurements. Without measurements, it is hard
to imagine the development of industry, transport, trade, as well as scientific fields
such as physics, chemistry, mechanics, astronomy, thermodynamics, electronics, and
many others, in which measurement allows verification of scientific hypotheses.
The development of technology often requires an extensive volume of information.
As such, it is not just a single measurement that is required but also information on a
numerous set of properties of an object or of a large number of objects. As a result,
there is also a need to determine and register not only the properties of the object,
but also the its variability with time, the direction of the changes, predictions of the
properties, the recognition of the images, and so on. The results of measurements
of various properties were always the basis of settlement between people and were
a part of everyday practice in society. Hence for a long time, people did not feel
the need to create the theoretical superstructure. In practice, all they needed was the
empirical knowledge of how to perform measurements to ascertain the numerical
characterization of given items.
In fact, metrology, the science of measurements, has a crucial role in the
development of society. Like any science, it is not only concerned with material objects but also with abstractions relating to the entire class of object
properties. Metrology as such is a relatively newly recognized science, and at
its core is the theoretical—mostly mathematical—establishment of measuring
principles. Metrology, dealing with the theory of measurements, aims to discover measuring challenges and new cognitive issues. Defining units of measurement, implementation of units of measurement, and last but not least setting chains between standards are among the most important tasks of metrology.
Surveying, also known as a practical activity towards measuring the properties
deals with the practical aspects of metrology—the technicalities of the evaluation
of the material world’s overview. It is, hence, the part of technology of a service
character, which determines the development of science and technology to a great
extent, and it involves almost all aspects of human activity.
• Measurement is a technique of evaluating the properties of objects from the
material world.
• Metrology is the science around the principles of measurement.
In this book, most topics refer exclusively to metrology, with a strong focus on the
measurement of chemical properties of objects. In the following chapters, the scope
of discussion around metrology includes the theory of the units of measurement and
the methods of their reproduction.