KRSMS Measurement

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Intended audience

This document is intended for SEEK and Kepler developers. It is a DRAFT DOCUMENT and does not reflect functionality as it currently exists in Kepler or SEEK, or any other beliefs. Comments and feedback are appreciated.

Introduction

This document serves as some notes on the ontology of measurement. The notion of measurement is very important (even fundamental) in ecology, as in other life sciences.

Misc. Links

• Wikipedia on "Metrology". Some interesting sentences: "Measurement is the determination of the size or magnitue of something. Measuremnt is not limitted to physical quantities, but can extend to quantifying almost anything imaginable. Examples of measurement range from degrees of uncertainty to consumer confidence to the rate of increase in the fall in the price of a good or service. ... Established standard objects and events are used as units ... For example, the unit for length might be a well-known person's foot, and the length of a boat can be given as the number of times that person's foot would fit the length of the boat. ... A measurement is a comparison to a standard. -- William Shockley ... Metrology is the study of measurement. A metric is a standard for measurement. The quantification of phenomena through the process of measurement relies on the existence of an explicit or implicit metric, which is the standard to which the measure is referenced. If I say I am 5, I am indicating a measurement without supplying an applicable standard. I may mean I am 5 years old or I am 5 feet high, however the implicit metric is that I mean I am 5 years old."

• Wikipedia on "Physical Units". Some interesting sentences: "Units as Dimensions: Any value of a physical quantity is expressed as a comparison to a unit of that quantity. For example, the value of a physical quantity Q is written as the product of a unit Q? and a numerical factor: Q = n * Q

Towards an Ontology of Measurement

Some important concepts we may want to capture and describe:

• Physical Quantity.
• Metric.