érzékelheten

Érzékelhetőség (detectability or perceptibility) is the degree to which a stimulus, feature, or signal can be perceived by an observer or detected by an instrument. The concept applies across human perception, sensing technologies, and scientific measurement, and it is central to disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, physics, chemistry, and engineering. Detectability depends on both the strength and contrast of the signal and the sensitivity, resolution, and noise characteristics of the detecting system. It is influenced by context, background conditions, distance, and adaptation.

In human perception, researchers distinguish absolute thresholds and just-noticeable differences (JND). Psychophysical methods model the relationship between stimulus intensity and detection probability through psychometric functions. Signal detection theory separates perceptual sensitivity from decision bias, using metrics such as d' (sensitivity) and criterion (decision threshold). These approaches help quantify how likely an observer is to detect a stimulus under varying conditions.

In instrumentation and analytical measurement, detectability is tied to the detection limit (limit of detection, LOD) and the ability to distinguish a signal from noise with defined confidence. Factors such as noise level, sampling, calibration, and data processing determine practical detectability in a given setup.

Applications range from astronomy, where faint sources must be distinguished from background light, to analytical chemistry, where trace compounds must be detected, to imaging and data analysis, where relevant features must exceed perceptual or instrumental thresholds. Understanding érzékelhetőség guides experimental design, sensor development, and interpretation of observed results.