Match the measuring instruments to their names.

UNIT 16

MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

LEAD-IN

 

1. Match the measuring instruments to their names.

A

B

C

D

E

F

Thermometer

Radiometer

Scale

Watch

Altimeter

Sundial

 

2. What do we use scales, thermometers, speedometers, clocks for? What other measuring instruments do you know? What are they used for?

READING

3. Read the text about measuring instruments and complete sentences 1-5 with words from the text:

1. Weight is measured by …. .

2. Heat is measured by …. .

3. Time is measured by …. .

4. Light is measured by …. .

5. Altitude is measured by …. .

Measuring Instruments

Measuring instrument is a device for determining the value of some quantity in terms of a standard unit. In the physical sciences, quality assurance, and engineering, measurement is the activity of obtaining and comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. Measuring instruments, and formal test methods which define the instrument's use, are the means by which these relations of numbers are obtained. All measuring instruments are subject to varying degrees of instrument error and measurement uncertainty.

Scientists, engineers and other humans use a vast range of instruments to perform their measurements. These instruments may range from simple objects such as rulers and stopwatches to electron microscopes and particle accelerators. Virtual instrumentation is widely used in the development of modern measuring instruments. A wide variety of measuring instruments is used for different purposes, for example:

•Scale – for measuring weight,

•Altimeter – for measuring altitude,

•Bolometer; Radiometer – for measuring radiant energy,

•Thermometer; Calorimetry – for measuring heat,

•Interferometer; Photometry – for measuring light,

•Clocks and Watches; Sundial; Clepsydra – for measuring time, and others.

METROLOGY is the science of measurement. Metrology includes all theoretical and practical aspects of measurement. Metrology is defined by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) as "the science of measurement, embracing both experimental and theoretical determinations at any level of uncertainty in any field of science and technology." Metrology is a very broad field and may be divided into three subfields: