`

Unitandmeasuresaredevelopedforeffectivecommunication.
512kilobyteperseconddatarate,a1600meterrunway,110
kilometerperhourspeedlimit
Apintofmilk,96mileperhourfastballs,a15stonesman
TheEnglishsystemofunitsoriginatedfromBabylonian.It
wasthe Romans whointroducedthebaseof12intheEnglish
system.
Themetricsystemarousedaroundtheendof18th century,its
developmentfollowedamorerationaland
scientificapproachthananthropometric.

EnglishandMetricSystems

7Mar15

Fundamentalofmeasurements

A unitisaparticularphysicalquantity(length,weight,etc),
definedandadoptedbyconvention,withwhichother
particularquantitiesofthesamekindarecomparedtoexpress
theirvalue.
Thevalueofaphysicalquantityisthequantitativeexpression
ofaparticularphysicalquantityastheproductofanumber
and aunit, thenumberbeingitsnumericalvalue.
Forexample,thecircumferenceoftheeartharoundthe
equatorisgivenby:Ce =40,074 103 m(meter)
quantity(dimension):length
unit:meter
measure(magnitude):40,074 103

Course 2015

Toensureafairexchangefortrading
Tosatisfytheneedsforindustrializedproductiontechnique
` Toprovideaccuratephysicalvariableinformationfor
scientificstudy,processcontrolandmonitoring.

Systemsofunits

Introduction

Example:
AsheetofEuropeanA4paperis210millimeterswidthby297
millimeterslong.
quantity(dimension):length
unit:millimeter
measures:210,297
Toavoidmisinterpretationstheuseoftheinternational
systemofunits (Systrme Internationald'unitrs,SI)ishighly
recommendedwhenpresentingmeasurementresults.
Asystemunitsiscomprisedofbased,supplementaryand
derivedunits.Basedunitsaredimensionallyindependent.

A CGI of the international

prototype kilogram (the inch
ruler is for scale). The prototype
is manufactured from a
platinumiridium alloy and is
39.17 mm in both diameter and
height, its edges have a four-angle
chamfer to minimize wear

Themeter(m) isthelengthofthepathtravelledbylightinvacuum
duringatimeintervalof1/299792458ofasecond[17th General
ConferenceonWeightsandMeasuresCGPM(1983),Res.1].The
speedoflightinvacuumatexactly299,792,458meterspersecond.
Thekilogram(kg) istheunitofmass;itisequaltothemassofthe
internationalprototypeofthekilogram[1st CGPM(1889)].

MeterandKilogram

Systemsofunits
7baseunits:meter,kilogram,second,ampere,Kelvin,mole
andcandela.
ThefoundationfortheSIsystemwaslaidduringtheFrench
Revolution,withthecreationofametricdecimalsystemof
unitsandoftwoplatinumstandardsrepresentingthemeter
andthekilogram (1799).Theunitoftimewasbasedonthe
astronomicalsecond(1/86,400ofameansolarday).
In1960the11th ConfrrenceGrnrraledesPoidsetMesures
adoptedtheampere asthebasicunitforelectriccurrent.Two
otherbasicunitshavebeenaddedtothesystem,for
temperature (Kelvin)andlight (candela),andin1971another
forsubstance (mole).

the ampere is a measure of the amount of electric charge

passing a point in an electric circuit per unit time with
6.241 1018 electrons, or one coulomb per second
constituting one ampere. Amperes can be viewed as a flow
rate, i.e. number of (charged) particles transiting per unit
time.

Thesecond(s) isthedurationof9192631770periodsofthe
radiationcorrespondingtothetransitionbetweenthetwo
hyperfinelevelsofthegroundstateofthecesium(Cs)133
atom[13thCGPM(1967),Res.1].
Theampere(A) isthatconstantcurrentwhich,ifmaintainedin
twostraightparallelconductorsofinfinitelength,ofnegligible
circularcrosssection,andplaced1meterapartinvacuum,
wouldproducebetweentheseconductorsaforceequalto2x
107newton permeteroflength[9thCGPM(1948)].

SecondandAmpere

BaseUnits

16

Definitionsofstandardunits

Course 2015

In chemistry and physics, the Avogadro

constant (symbols: L, NA) is defined as the
number of constituent particles (usually atoms
or molecules) in one mole of a given substance.
It has dimensions of reciprocal mol and its
value is equal to 6.02214129(27)1023 mol1
Lord Kelvin

TheKelvin(K),unitofthermodynamictemperature,isthe
fraction1/273.16ofthethermodynamictemperatureofthe
triplepointofwater[13thCGPM(1967),Res.4].
Themole (mol)istheamountofsubstanceofasystemwhich
containsasmanyelementaryentitiesasthereareatomsin
0.012kilogramofcarbon12[14thCGPM(1971),Res.3].

Amedeo Avogadro

KelvinandMole

A100wattlightbulbhastheluminousintensityofapproximately135cd.

A graphical representation of 1 steradian. The

sphere has radius r, and in this case the area of
the patch on the surface is A = r2.

17

Course 2015

Theradian(rad)andthesteradian (sr)aretwoSI
supplementaryunits.Thereare2S radiansoverthe
circumferenceofacircleand4S steradians overthesurfaceof
ashpere.

Thecandela(cd) istheluminousintensity,inagivendirection,
ofasourcethatemitsmonochromaticradiationoffrequency
5401012 hertzandthathasaradiantintensityinthat
directionof1/683wattpersteradian [16thCGPM(1979),
Res.3].

FundamentalSIunits

Candela

Course 2015

Assume100Calareexpendedforeachmilejogged
Acupoficecreamcontains400Cal
1goffatproduces9Calofenergy
ToJog4miles
400Cal/9Cal/g=44.4gbodyfat

Example

18

DerivedSIunits(examples)

Volumeoftheair1440ft3
Thedensityofairat1atm and300Kis1.16kg/m3 =0.00226
slag/ft3
Themassoftheair3.25slugs(TE)=47.5kg(SI)
Theweightofair3.25slugs32.174ft/s2 =104.6lbf
47.5kg9.81m/s2 =465.4N

Example

Conversionfactorsbetweenunitsystems

Otherquantitiesthanthebasequantitiesarecalledderived
quantities.Theyaredefinedintermsofthesevenbase
quantitiesviaasystemofquantityequations.

ThenumberofSignificantFiguresshouldcorrespondwiththe
uncertaintyinthemeasurement.(digitsuptoandincluding
thefirstuncertaindigit).
Forexample,iftheuncertaintyinameasurementis0.05,
thenthemeasurementshouldbeexpressedas2.55 0.05
Rulesforroundingoffanumber
` Truncatethenumbertoitsdesiredlength
` Expresstheexcessdigitasadecimalfraction
` Rounduptheleastsignificantdigitby1,
` ifthefraction>orthefractionisequaltoandthe
leastsignificantdigitisodd.
` Itisleftalone,otherwise.
Example:5.6850103 become5.68103 forthreesignificant
digit

SignificantFigures

Accuracyofthebaseunits

Example

Scientificnotation:toavoidwritingverylarge
andverysmallnumbers
Example:
325000=3.25105=3.25E+5

The SI preference is to
express a number using a
prefix such that its numerical
value is between 0.1 and
1000. (2.4GHz, 300kW)

Decimalprefixes(formostpopularcases)

31

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32

Course 2015

thedisplacementmeasuringstraingaugehasanoutputintheform
ofavaryingresistance.Becausetheresistancechangecannotbe
measuredeasily,itisconvertedtoachangeinvoltagebyabridge
circuit

Variableconversionelements:convertsoutputvariableofa
primarytransducertoamoreconvenientform.

Primarysensor:givesanoutputthatisafunctionofthe
measurand
9 liquidinglassthermometer,athermocouple,andastrain
gauge

Elementsofameasurementsystem

54.00.5=?K
273.15+54.0=327.2K0.5Kforthesamelevelofprecision
273.15+54.0=327Kformaintaining3significantfigures

Example

Elementsofameasurementsystem

Example

Course 2015

35

Course 2015

Applicationsofmeasuringinstruments
9 regulatingtrade
9 monitoringfunctionsandcalibratingtheinstruments
9 Toformafeedbackcontrolsystems

Exampleforapplications

33

9 Primarysensorandvariableconversionelementarecombined;this
combinationisknownasatransducer.
9 Insomecases,thewordsensorisusedgenericallytorefertoboth
transducersandtransmitters.

Signalprocessingelementsimprovethequalityoftheoutput
ofameasurement(noisereduction,sensitivityand
resolution)

Elementsofameasurementsystem

34

36

Course 2015

Course 2015

specificationoftheinstrumentcharacteristicsrequired
` accuracy,resolution,sensitivity,anddynamicperformance
` theenvironmentalconditions
` Instrumentdurabilityandmaintenancerequirements
` Tradeoffbetweenperformanceandcost
thetotalpurchasecostandestimatedmaintenancecostsofan
instrumentoveritslifearedividedbytheperiodofits
expectedlife.
newtechniquesandinstrumentsarebeingdevelopedallthe
time,andthereforeagoodinstrumentationengineermust
keepabreastofthelatestdevelopmentsbyreadingthe
appropriatetechnicaljournalsregularly.

EndoftheChapter

ChoosingAppropriateMeasuringInstruments