QUALIFICATION OF MEASURING INSTRUMENTS ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION THEORY

Abstract

Measuring instruments can be interpreted as tools for gaining information - since taking measurements is in fact gathering information. This way instruments are qualified according to the efficiency of the information gathering process. For this purpose parameters to describe efficiency both in he context of gaining information compared to our a priori knowledge and the efficiency of the sensor to display channel are introduced. The measuring instrument is described as an information transmitting channel and efficiency is described using measures well accepted in information theory (entropy, mutual information, information gain, etc.). The new method has an ability to describe measuring instruments solely on the basis of their potential for providing information and independently of their mechanical structure, working principle. etc. The advantage of the method over conventional ones is that instrument qualification can be based on a principle related more closely to the core function of measuring instruments, that is, gathering information.