TYPE OF MEASUREMENT

DIRECT MEASUREMENTS:
THE VALUE OF THE PHYSICAL PARAMETER (MEASURAND)
IS DETERMINED BY COMPARING IT DIRECTLY WITH
REFERENCE STANDARDS. THE PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
LIKE MASS, LENGTH, AND TIME ARE MEASURED BY
DIRECT COMPARISON.
INDIRECT MEASUREMENTS:
THE VALUE OF THE PHYSICAL PARAMETER (MEASURAND)
IS MORE GENERALLY DETERMINED BY INDIRECT
COMPARISON WITH SECONDARY STANDARDS THROUGH
CALIBRATION.
 TYPE OF MEASUREMENT
PRIMARY:
IN PRIMARY MODE, THE SOUGHT VALUE OF A PHYSICAL
PARAMETER IS DETERMINED BY COMPARING IT DIRECTLY WITH
REFERENCE STANDARDS. THE REQUISITE INFORMATION IS
OBTAINABLE THROUGH SENSES OF SIGHT AND TOUCH. E.G.
ARE MATCHING OF TWO LENGTHS WHEN DETERMINING THE
LENGTH OF AN OBJECT WITH A RULER
SECONDARY:-THE INDIRECT MEASUREMENTS INVOLVING ONE
TRANSLATION ARE CALLED SECONDARY MEASUREMENTS. THE
CONVERSION OF PRESSURE INTO DISPLACEMENT BY BELLOWS
IS A SIMPLE EXAMPLE OF THE SECONDARY MEASUREMENT.
TYPE OF MEASUREMENT
TERTIARY:
THE INDIRECT MEASUREMENTS INVOLVING TWO CONVERSIONS
ARE CALLED TERTIARY MEASUREMENTS. THE MEASUREMENT OF
THE SPEED OF A ROTATING SHAFT BY MEANS OF AN ELECTRIC
TACHOMETER IS THE EXAMPLE OF THE TERTIARY MEASUREMENTS
CONTACT MEASUREMENT:-WHERE THE SENSING ELEMENT OF
THE MEASURING DEVICE HAS A CONTACT WITH THE MEDIUM
WHOSE CHARACTERISTICS ARE MEASURED.

NON-CONTACT:-WHERE THE SENSOR DOES NOT COMMUNICATE

PHYSICALLY WITH THE MEDIUM.
 TYPE OF MEASUREMENT
Dumb Type: A dumb or conventional instrument is that in which
the input variable is measured and displayed, but the data is
processed by the observer. For example, a Bourdon pressure
gauge is termed as a dumb instrument because though it can
measure and display a car tyre pressure but the observer has to
judge whether the car tyre air inflation pressure is sufficient or not.
Intelligent Type: Intelligent or smart instruments process the data
in conjunction with microprocessor (P ) or an on-line digital
computer to provide assistance in noise reduction, automatic
calibration, drift correction, gain adjustments, etc. In addition, they
are quite often equipped with diagnostic subroutines with suitable
alarm generation in case of any type of malfunctioning.
 Accuracy of a measuring system is defined as the
closeness of the instrument output to the true value of
the measured quantity.
Precision is defined as the ability of the instrument to
reproduce a certain set of readings within a given
accuracy.
The accuracy represents the degree of correctness of
the measured value with respect to the true value and
the precision represents degree of repeatability of
several independent measurements of the desired input
at the same reference conditions.
 Photodiode
The working principle of a photodiode is, when a photon of
ample energy strikes the diode, it makes a couple of an
electron-hole.This mechanism is also called as the inner
photoelectric effect. If the absorption arises in the depletion
region junction, then the carriers are removed from the junction
by the inbuilt electric field of the depletion region.
Therefore, holes in the region move toward the anode, and
electrons move toward the cathode, and a photocurrent will be
generated. The entire current through the diode is the sum of
the absence of light and the photocurrent. So the absent current
must be reduced to maximize the sensitivity of the device.
 Phototransistor
Phototransistor is similar to the photodiode except an additional n-type
region is added to the photodiode configuration. The phototransistor
includes a photodiode with an internal gain. A phototransistor can be
represented as a bipolar transistor that is enclosed in a transparent
case so that photons can reach the base-collector junction.
The electrons that are generated by photons in the base-collector
junction are injected into the base, and the current is then amplified.
Since phototransistor detection is on the order of the photodiode they
can not detect light any better than a photodiode. The draw back of a
phototransistor is the slower response time in comparison to a
photodiode. The figure below shows the relationship between a
photodiode and phototransistor
 A photomultiplier converts light into an electrical signal, then amplifies
that signal to a useful level by emission of secondary electrons.
type of intensity based fiber optic sensor is the evanescent wave
sensor (see Figure 7) that utilizes the light energy which leaks from the
core into the cladding. These sensors are widely used as chemical
sensors. The sensing is accomplished by stripping the cladding from a
section of the fiber and using a light source having a wavelength that
can be absorbed by the chemical that is to be detected. The resulting
change in light intensity is a measure of the chemical concentration.
Measurements can also be performed in a similar method by replacing
the cladding with a material such as an organic dye whose optical
properties can be changed by the chemical under investigation