Accuracy is an essential component in most, if not all, human endeavors. Accuracy is actually a good determinant whether a work will be successful or not. For example, the Apollo 11 Moon Landing Project of NASA. Had the teams that worked on the project miscalculated, the rocket sent to the moon might have missed its target and could have caused the loss of the lives of the astronauts. Such is the impact that accuracy has on human enterprises.
There are, however, some industries or fields that require more accuracy than others. Childcare does not need to be as accurate as neurophysics. It is in the more technical work that accurate measurements or projections play larger roles. Minute changes or variations in these types of works ripple towards substantial effects to produce very different results. And because of this great necessity for being accurate, a science that is specifically targeted at producing accurate measurements has been developed. This branch of science is called metrology.[/i]
The science of metrology deals with all theoretical and practical aspects of the subject of measurement. It has three main branches that, though in theory are separate, tend to mesh with one another on various occasions. These three are:
1. Fundamental Metrology: it deals with the establishment of standardized systems of units of measurements and quantities.
2. Applied Metrology: this branch is all about the science of measurement with respect to their appropriateness and applicability in industrial, technological, and other types of actual production. It uses metrology tools[/b] with the aim of fabricating or constructing objects or structures.
3. Legal Metrology: this refers to measurement units, devices, etc., which pertain to and are necessary for ensuring fair trade, public safety, taxation purposes, and other governmental and societal concerns.
Metrology has 'traceability' as its backbone. Metrology as a science that is appropriate and functional needs to have the inherent capacity of sequential order from its resulting units of measurement back to its abstract and theoretical foundations. This ensures reliability of any given measurement, quantity, or unit, and ensures the applicability of one metrological system through time or its convertability in various locations with different metrological systems. This applies as well to metrology tools[/b], [/b]devices, organizations, and other products or functions resulting or partaking in the study of measurement.
The impact of this science is most overtly felt in the branch of applied metrology. This branch impacts each and every individual in society almost immediately. Anything you can physically see, hear, smell, taste, and touch has used metrology in one way or another. And it is in this branch where accuracy is most essential. The industries of manufacturing, fabrication, construction, and production all rely on accurate measurements and devices for measurement. Even endeavors such as scientific research and invention, or even mining, all heavily depend on metrological accuracy. Without this kind of accuracy, works such as the telephone, the Parthenon, the motor car, and the bigger ventures such as the mentioned Apollo 11 Project will not be possible.