Meetverschil

Meetverschil, literally “measurement difference” in Dutch, denotes the difference between two measurements of the same quantity. It is a basic indicator of measurement consistency and is used in metrology, quality control, and instrument calibration. The meetverschil between two measurements m1 and m2 is Δ = m1 − m2. The absolute meetverschil is |Δ|, while the relative meetverschil can be expressed as a percentage, typically calculated as (|Δ| / m_ref) × 100%, where m_ref is a reference value such as a nominal or mean measurement.

Applications include assessing repeatability (same operator and instrument, repeated trials), reproducibility (different conditions), and the adequacy of a measuring method against tolerances. In practice, meetverschil helps decide whether observed variation is within expected limits or indicates a problem with equipment or procedure.

Common causes of meetverschil are instrument precision limits, calibration drift, temperature, vibration, operator technique, and sample variability. Reducing meetverschil involves proper calibration, regular maintenance, controlling environmental conditions, standardized procedures, and increasing the number of measurements to estimate mean and uncertainty.

Example: two measurements of a gauge block give 100.05 mm and 100.03 mm; meetverschil is 0.02 mm, and the relative difference against 100.04 mm (the mean) is approximately 0.02%.

See also: measurement uncertainty, accuracy, precision, calibration, quality control, tolerance. References: standard metrology texts.