Measurement errors and uncertainties. Theory and practice.

Publication date 17 April 2000

calibration measurement errors metrology uncertainties

Research exposition (monographs, survey articles) pertaining to game theory, economics, and finance (91-02) Measurement theory in the social and behavioral sciences (91C05)

Review text

In this book the entire hierarchy of questions pertaining to measurement errors and uncertainties is studied, a theory of measurement inaccuracy is developed, and specific recommendation are made for solving the basic problems arising in practice. In addition, methods are presented for calculating the errors of measuring instruments. The attention devoted to the properties of measuring instruments, taking into account their relations with measurement inaccuraces, is one of the highlights of this book. The major objective of this book is to give methods for estimating errors and uncertainties of real measurements: measurements that are performed in industry, commerce, and experimental research. The first edition of this book was published by the American Institute of Physics under the title ``Measurements Errors: Theory and Practice. This second edition reflects the work done by the author since the appearance of the first edition. The result of this work led to the formulation of a new theory of indirect measurements, which obviates the need for the calculation of correlation coefficients. This is very important development because the calculation of the correlation coefficient is one of the most notorious stumbling blocks in estimating the inaccuracy of measurements results. The second edition of this book has ten chapters. Chapter 1 contains general information on measurements and metrology. The chapter includes some questions that are solved or presented anew. Chapter 2 is devoted to measuring instruments. Statistical analysis of errors of several batches of various measuring instruments obtained by standards laboratories is given. The analysis shows that such data are statistically unstable and hence cannot be used as the basis for obtaining a distribution function of errors of measuring instruments. This important result influenced the ways in which many problems are covered in this book. In Chapter 3, a general analysis of elementary errors of measurements is given. Two fundamentally important methods of constructing a convolution of distribution functions are presented. Chapter 4 contains methods of mathematical statistics as applied to idealized multiple measurements. These methods constitute the classical theory of measurement errors. In Chapter 5, real direct measurements are considered. It is shown that single measurements should be considered as the basic form of measurement. The new theory of indirect measurements is presented in Chapter 6, which replaces Chapter 6 and Chapter 11 of the first edition. In Chapter 7 combined measurements are considered. The well-known least-squares algorithm is described in detail. Chapter 8 contains methods for combining measurement results. Such methods are necessary in the cases where the same measurand is measured in multiple stages or in different laboratories. Chapter 9 gives general methods for calculating their total errors that are useful during the development of the instruments. In Chapter 10, calibration methods that tie measuring instruments to corresponding standards are considered. In addition to the new theory of indirect measurements, the second edition contains many clarification and corrections to the text of the first edition. Also, the notations are revised and the list of references is updated. The need for such a book is due to the fact that the existing theory of measurement errors was historically developed as an abstract mathematical discipline. As a result, this theory allows estimation of uncertainties of some ideal measurements only and is not applicable to the great majority of practical cases. This situation did not bother mathematicians, while engineers, not being bold enough to assert that the mathematical theory of errors cannot satisfy their needs, solved their particular problems in one or another ad hoc manner. This book is targeted for practical use and includes many concrete examples, many of which illustrate typical problems arising in the practice of measurements. The book is intended for anyone who is concerned with measurements in any field of science or technology, who designs technological processes and chooses for them instruments having appropriate accuracy, and who designs and tests new measuring devices. This book will also prove useful to many university and college students.

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