Quantity: A property that is measured [e.g. mass, length, time, volume, pressure].

There are two type of quantity, scalar and vector quantity.

Unit: A standard quantity against which a quantity is measured [e.g. gram, metre,
second, litre, pascal; which are units of the above quantities].

Device and Machine: The operation of a machine may involve the transformation
of chemical, thermal, electrical, or nuclear energy into mechanical energy, or vice
versa, or its function may simply be to modify and transmit forces and motions. All
machines have an input, an output, and a transforming or modifying and
transmitting device. Every machine is a device, but every device is not a machine.

Load effect: When an instrument of lower sensitivity is used with a heavier load
the measurement it makes is erroneous, this effect is known as loading effect, for
instance mercury in the thermometer.

Illegitimate error: illegitimate errors are errors that would not be expected. These
include outright mistakes, such as incorrectly written down a number, failing to
turn on an instrument, or miscalculating during data reduction.
Piezoelectric Sensor: A piezoelectric sensor is a device that uses the piezoelectric
effect, to measure changes in pressure, acceleration, temperature, strain, or force by
converting them to an electrical charge.

Piezoelectric effect: Piezoelectric Effect is the ability of certain materials to

generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress. The word
Piezoelectric is derived from the Greek piezein, which means to squeeze or press,
and piezo, which is Greek for “push”.
One of the unique characteristics of the piezoelectric effect is that it is
reversible, meaning that materials exhibiting the direct piezoelectric effect (the
generation of electricity when stress is applied) also exhibit the converse
piezoelectric effect (the generation of stress when an electric field is applied).

When piezoelectric material is placed under mechanical stress, a shifting of

the positive and negative charge centers in the material takes place, which then
results in an external electrical field. When reversed, an outer electrical field either
stretches or compresses the piezoelectric material.

Absolute Zero Pressure: Absolute zero pressure is the pressure of a perfect

vacuum, a void or space that contains absolutely no matter of any sort.
Actual size: The size of a part as may be found by measurement.

Limits of size: the two extreme permissible sizes between which the actual size is contained.

Maximum limits of size: the greater of the two is called maximum limit.

Minimum limits of size: the smaller one of the two limits of size is called minimum limit.

Basic size (Normal Size): the size with reference to which the limits of size are fixed. The limits
of size are derived by the application of upper and lower deviations.

Deviation: The algebraic difference between a size (actual, maximum etc.) and the
corresponding basic size.

- Upper deviation: The algebraic difference between the maximum limit of size and
the corresponding basic size.
- Lower deviation: The algebraic difference between the minimum limit of size and
the corresponding basic size.
- Zero line: In a graphical representation of limits and fits, a straight line to which the
deviations are referred. The zero line is the line of zero deviation and represents the
basic size.

Tolerance: Tolerance is equal to the algebraic difference between the upper and lower
deviations and has an absolute value without sign.