World Metrology Day commemorates the signing of the Meter Convention on May 20, 1875. We who are dedicated to metrology, the science of measurement, celebrate the importance of measurements on this day. We also like to use this day to evangelize and talk about measurements and why they are so interesting and important to us all.
The theme for World Metrology Day 2015 is “Measurements and Light,” which got me thinking about Fluke Corporation’s contributions in that area. You might not associate Fluke products with light, but we actually do some interesting work in this discipline.
Here are two examples of how Fluke and one of our sister companies make products that measure light.
The Fluke 1000FLT Fluorescent Light Tester takes the trial and error out of fluorescent light testing. It is the only tester that performs all five essential lighting tests in less than 30 seconds. For people who work with large numbers of fluorescent lights, the Fluke 1000FLT is an indispensable troubleshooting tool.
Raysafe, a Fluke Biomedical company, makes light detectors that help medical professionals optimize the amount of illuminance from CRT monitors, LCD monitors, and testing view boxes used in medical imaging systems. This is important because if the illuminance from these devices is too low or too high, medical images from x-ray, CT-scan and mammography machines cannot be viewed and interpreted properly.
Here are two more examples; these explain how Fluke uses light to make traditional measurements better.
Fluke Laser Distance Meters use special laser beam properties to measure lengths up to 100 meters, with accuracy on the order of 1 millimeter, as well as area and volume measurements. Its accuracy helps to reduce estimating errors—the meter does the math, so the user doesn’t have to.
Fluke Networks plays a critical role in certifying fiber optic networks, which transmit high-speed internet data over light. And Fluke carefully disseminates measurements of optical power directly from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to the products that we manufacture and calibrate.
Fluke applies our people’s passion and knowledge of metrology to safeguard the world’s measurements. I hope that each of you will join in the celebration of World Metrology Day and can share in the enthusiasm that Fluke employees have for the science of measurement. Happy World Metrology Day!
Note: we've also put together a World Metrology Day video that you can watch here.
And we have created a special web page commemorating World Metrology Day with my messages from past years plus a variety of interesting and informative videos about the importance of measurements. You can visit the page here.