---
title: "List of measuring instruments"
chunk: 4/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_measuring_instruments"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:29:33.241775+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Ionizing radiation ===
Ionizing radiation includes rays of "particles" as well as rays of "waves". Especially X-rays and gamma rays transfer enough energy in non-thermal, (single-) collision processes to separate electron(s) from an atom.

==== Particle and ray flux ====
Bubble chamber
Cloud chamber
Dosimeter, a technical device realizes different working principles.
Geiger counter
Ionisation chamber
Microchannel plate detector
Photographic plate
Photostimulable phosphor plate
Proportional counter
Scintillation counter, Lucas cell
Semiconductor detector

== Identification and content ==
This could include chemical substances, rays of any kind, elementary particles, and quasiparticles. Many measurement devices outside this section may be used or at least become part of an identification process.
For identification and content concerning chemical substances, see also Analytical chemistry, List of chemical analysis methods, and List of materials analysis methods.

=== Content in mixtures, substance identification ===
Carbon dioxide sensor
chromatographic device, gas chromatograph separates mixtures of substances. Different velocities of the substance types accomplish the separation.
Colorimeter absorbance, and thus concentration
Gas detector
Gas detector in combination with mass spectrometer,
mass spectrometer identifies the chemical composition of a sample on the basis of the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles.
Nephelometer or turbidimeter
Oxygen sensor (= lambda sond)
Refractometer, indirectly by determining the refractive index of a substance.
Smoke detector
Ultracentrifuge, separates mixtures of substances. In a force field of a centrifuge, substances of different densities separate.

==== pH: Concentration of protons in a solution ====
pH meter
Saturated calomel electrode

==== Humidity ====
Hygrometer the density of water in air
Lysimeter the balance of water in soil

== Human senses and human body ==

=== Sight ===

==== Brightness: photometry ====
Photometry is the measurement of light in terms of its perceived brightness to the human eye. Photometric quantities derive from analogous radiometric quantities by weighting the contribution of each wavelength by a luminosity function that models the eye's spectral sensitivity. For the ranges of possible values, see the orders of magnitude in:
illuminance,
luminance, and
luminous flux.

Photometers of various kinds:
Lux meter for measuring illuminance, i.e. incident luminous flux per unit area
Luminance meter for measuring luminance, i.e. luminous flux per unit area and unit solid angle
Light meter, an instrument used to set photographic exposures. It can be either a lux meter (incident-light meter) or a luminance meter (reflected-light meter), and is calibrated in photographic units.
Integrating sphere for collecting the total luminous flux of a light source, which can then be measured by a photometer
Densitometer for measuring the degree to which a photographic material reflects or transmits light

==== Color: colorimetry ====
Tristimulus colorimeter for quantifying colors and calibrating an imaging workflow

==== Radar brightness: radiometry ====
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments measure radar brightness, Radar Cross Section (RCS), which is a function of the reflectivity and moisture of imaged objects at wavelengths which are too long to be perceived by the human eye. Black pixels mean no reflectivity (e.g. water surfaces), white pixels mean high reflectivity (e.g. urban areas). Colored pixels can be obtained by combining three gray-scaled images which usually interpret the polarization of electromagnetic waves. The combination R-G-B = HH-HV-VV combines radar images of waves sent and received horizontally (HH), sent horizontally and received vertically (HV) and sent and received vertically (VV). The calibration of such instruments is done by imaging objects (calibration targets) whose radar brightness is known.

=== Hearing ===

==== Loudness in phon ====
Headphone, loudspeaker, sound pressure gauge, for measuring an equal-loudness contour of a human ear.
Sound level meter calibrated to an equal-loudness contour of the human auditory system behind the human ear.

=== Smell ===
Olfactometer, see also Olfaction.

=== Temperature (sense and body) ===

==== Body temperature or core temperature ====
Medical thermometer, see also infrared thermometer

=== Circulatory system ===
Blood-related parameters are listed in a blood test.

Electrocardiograph records the electrical activity of the heart
Glucose meter for obtaining the status of blood sugar.
Sphygmomanometer, a blood pressure meter used to determine blood pressure in medicine. See also Category:Blood tests

=== Respiratory system ===

Spirometer

==== Concentration or partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the respiratory gases ====
Capnograph

=== Nervous system ===
Electroencephalograph records the electrical activity of the brain

=== Musculoskeletal system ===

==== Power, work of muscles ====
Ergometer

=== Metabolic system ===
Body fat meter

=== Medical imaging ===

Computed tomography
Magnetic resonance imaging
Medical ultrasonography
Radiology
Tomograph, device and method for non-destructive analysis of multiple measurements done on a geometric object, for producing 2- or 3-dimensional images, representing the inner structure of that geometric object.
See also: Category:Physiological instruments and Category:Medical testing equipment.

== Meteorology ==
See also Category:Meteorological instrumentation and equipment.

== Navigation ==
See also Category:Navigational equipment and Category:Navigation.
See also Surveying instruments.

== Astronomy ==
Radio antenna
Telescope
See also Astronomical instruments and Category:Astronomical observatories.

== Military ==
Some instruments, such as telescopes and sea navigation instruments, have had military applications for many centuries. However, the role of instruments in military affairs rose exponentially with the development of technology via applied science, which began in the mid-19th century and has continued through the present day. Military instruments as a class draw on most of the categories of instrument described throughout this article, such as navigation, astronomy, optics, and imaging, and the kinetics of moving objects. Common abstract themes that unite military instruments are seeing into the distance, seeing in the dark, knowing an object's geographic location, and knowing and controlling a moving object's path and destination. Special features of these instruments may include ease of use, speed, reliability, and accuracy.