Dictionary · Instruments
Sensor
The element of a measuring system directly affected by the phenomenon, body, or substance carrying the quantity being measured — the Pt resistance element in an SPRT, the seismic mass in an accelerometer.
Related terms
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Rated operating condition
An operating condition that must be fulfilled during measurement for an instrument to perform as designed — the environmental and use envelope the specs assume.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 4.9
Resolution of a displaying device
The smallest difference between displayed indications that can be meaningfully distinguished — for a digital display, one count of the least significant digit.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 4.15
Null measurement uncertainty
The measurement uncertainty when the specified measured value is zero — what limits how confidently a null or tare reading can be trusted.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 4.29
Datum measurement error
The measurement error of an instrument or system at a specified measured value — the error quoted at a named point rather than over the whole interval.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 4.27
Measuring transducer
A device, used in measurement, that provides an output quantity having a specified relation to the input quantity — a thermocouple, a load cell, a pressure-to-current converter.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 3.7
Nominal quantity value
A rounded or approximate value of a characterizing quantity of a measuring instrument that guides its appropriate use — the "100 Ω" stamped on a resistor, the "1 kg" of a weight.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 4.6