Robert B. Northrop, Introduction to Instrumentation and Measurement, 2/e , CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton (2005) ISBN 0-8493-3773-9 743 pp., Hardcover, plus XXI

Measurement is a fundamental process that is common to all sciences. In physics and engineering, measurement represents an activity of comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. Established standards for objects and events are used as units, and measurement results in a given number that corresponds to a relationship between the item under study and the referenced unit of measurement. Measuring instruments are the means by which this translation is made. Today, electronic measurement systems have become complicated machines able to perform complex tasks in a large variety of environments. Such systems are found in every area of science and technology. The massive growth in the application of electronic in general and computers in particular, in the field of process control and monitoring has spawned a parallel growth in the requirement for instruments to measure, record and control process variables. This in turn, has required a parallel growth in new instruments and measurement technologies. Multipurpose, multifunctional measurement systems which are capable of performing tasks that were impossible twenty years ago are commonplace now. The design of a measurement system is a complicated process, and the designer is confronted with numerous problems concerning technical specifications including accuracy, sensitivity, reliability, architectural choice, human–machine interaction, cost, etc. This book covers a large number of topics encountered in the design and application of electronic measurement systems. It provides a solid framework for developing electronic instrumentation and presents general concepts of acquiring physical data and their conversion in a form that can be further used by the digital processing system. The book is organized into 11 chapters, References and Bibliography with 281 entries, and an Index. The contents of the chapters can be summarized as follows: Chapter 1 (Measurement Systems, pp. 1–37) introduces the architecture of typical measurement system, and describes sensor dynamics, signal conditioning, data display and storage activities. In addition, standards used in electrical and physical measurements are described, too. Chapter 2 (Analog Signal Conditioning, pp. 39–112) concentrates on the analysis and design of analog signal condi-