The Tao of Measurement: A Philosophical View of Flow and Sensors

Product Description

This book deals with the past, present, and future of flow, sensors, and measurement. It is called The Tao of Measurement because, like the Tao itself, it reveals the underlying principles of flow and measurement. It explains the engineering and physics of flow and sensors, how our units of measurement were derived, present day measurement practices, and how today's scientific tools can improve our units of measurement. It's a must-read for anyone involved in instrumentation or process control.

The book's opening chapters explore the technologies of temperature, pressure, and flow measurement. The authors reveal the history of units of measurement and describe how they came to be used today. The book then presents a thorough discussion of the different types of temperature sensors, pressure transmitters, and flowmeters. It contains an explanation of applications, and then comments on trends in sensors and measurement. Each chapter includes a handy glossary of units of measurement.

The authors then turn their attention to three very familiar but vital subjects: time, length and area. They trace the origins of today's units of measurement for these variables, all the way back to Greek and Roman times, then follow their development to today's atomic clocks and the standard meter, now defined in terms of wavelengths of light.

This book describes how modern technology can be used to improve units of measurement. It paints a picture of a dynamic and changing universe, one in which systems can be integrated with improved measurement practices. It looks beyond the static nature of everyday objects to an underlying reality that is dynamic and changing. It describes the technologies that are available to effectively configure a cost-effective system, and then shows how to integrate this system with the most powerful sensors and tools of flow measurement. Systems and instrumentation, the yin and yang of the automation world, are finally united in a synthesis that comes from seeing both from a single perspective. The Tao of measurement is revealed, and in the end, it is all about flow.

Each section of the book can be used as a standalone handbook or as a readable engineering manual. Questions? Comments? Feel free to contact Dr. Jesse Yoder at [email protected] or Dick Morley at [email protected].

The Tao of Measurement is a revolutionary look at our traditional concepts of flow, time, points, and circles. Our technology has evolved very rapidly, but it has done so using concepts older than Roman chariot wheels. It is time for a fresh look, and this book provides it. --Dr. Jesse Yoder

About the Author

Jesse Yoder, Ph.D. ([email protected]) is president of Flow Research, Inc. (www.flowresearch.com), a company he founded in 1998, which is located in Wakefield, MA. He has 28 years of experience as an analyst and writer in process control. He has authored more than 180 market research studies in industrial automation and process control and has written more than 230 published journal articles on instrumentation topics. He has published articles in Flow Control, Processing, Pipeline & Gas Journal, InTech magazine, Control, and other instrumentation publications. Study topics include Coriolis, magnetic, ultrasonic, vortex, thermal, differential pressure, positive displacement, and turbine flowmeters. He has authored two separate six-volume series of studies on gas flow and oil flow. Dr. Yoder is a regular speaker at flowmeter conferences, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Dr. Yoder studied philosophy at the University of Maryland, The Rockefeller University, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he received his Ph.D. in 1984. He served as an adjunct professor of philosophy for ten years at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Lafayette College. In 1989 he co-founded the InterChange Technical Writing Conference, which he directed for six years. He has become a world-renowned authority and exp