Instrument Science and Technology: A Systemised Discipline

Abstract

Modern industry and commerce are dependent on accurate measurement, and there is a need throughout all industry for improvement in measurement skills. The science and technology of measurement is a multi-disciplinary subject, while measurement and control are interdependent. Sufficient and proper teaching and training in the subject, particularly in further and higher education, is unlikely to occur unless the subject becomes established as a systemised discipline in its own right. A set of unifying, underlying, general principles and concepts organised in a logical framework is required, although it is desirable to avoid both the temptation to overtheorise and to produce mere catalogues of devices. Of considerable importance is a suitable means of presenting theoretical and practical knowledge about primary sensing elements and measuring transducers. The paper will consider recent developments that are helping to establish the discipline of measurements.