Scientific instrument - Revision history

EliseMacnaghten at 05:52, 17 February 2026

2026-02-17T05:52:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:22, 17 February 2026
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	==History==		==History==
	Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, and historical time period.<ref name="HackmannReaders13" /><ref name="Warner">{{cite journal \| title=What Is a Scientific Instrument, When Did It Become One, and Why? \| author=Warner, Deborah Jean \| journal=The British Journal for the History of Science \| volume=23 \| number=1 \| date=March 1990 \| pages=83–93 \| jstor=4026803 \| doi=10.1017/S0007087400044460 }}</ref><ref name="FR71USvsPresb">{{cite journal \|title=United States v. Presbyterian Hospital \|journal=The Federal Reporter \|volume=71 \|pages=866–868 \|year=1896}}</ref> Before the mid-nineteenth ~~[https://successstudy92.blogspot.com/2020/07/important-scientific-instruments.html~~ century] such tools were referred to as "natural philosophical" or "philosophical" apparatus and instruments, and older tools from antiquity to the [[Middle Ages]] (such as the [[astrolabe]] and [[pendulum clock]]) defy a more modern definition of "a tool developed to investigate nature qualitatively or quantitatively."<ref name="HackmannReaders13" /><ref name="FR71USvsPresb" /> Scientific instruments were made by instrument ~~makers~~ living near a center of learning or research, such as a university or research [[laboratory]]. Instrument makers designed, constructed, and refined instruments for purposes, but if demand was sufficient, an instrument would go into production as a commercial product.<ref name="TurnerEarly87">{{cite book \|title=Early Scientific Instruments: Europe, 1400-1800 \|author=Turner, A.J. \|publisher=Phillip Wilson Publishers \|year=1987}}</ref><ref name="BediniEarly64">{{cite book \|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39141 \|title=Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers \|author=Bedini, S.A. \|publisher=Smithsonian Institution \|year=1964 \|access-date=18 January 2017}}</ref>		Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, and historical time period.<ref name="HackmannReaders13" /><ref name="Warner">{{cite journal \| title=What Is a Scientific Instrument, When Did It Become One, and Why? \| author=Warner, Deborah Jean \| journal=The British Journal for the History of Science \| volume=23 \| number=1 \| date=March 1990 \| pages=83–93 \| jstor=4026803 \| doi=10.1017/S0007087400044460 \| s2cid=145517920 }}</ref><ref name="FR71USvsPresb">{{cite journal \|title=United States v. Presbyterian Hospital \|journal=The Federal Reporter \|volume=71 \|pages=866–868 \|year=1896}}</ref> Before the mid-nineteenth century such tools were referred to as "natural philosophical" or "philosophical" apparatus and instruments, and older tools from antiquity to the [[Middle Ages]] (such as the [[astrolabe]] and [[pendulum clock]]) defy a more modern definition of "a tool developed to investigate nature qualitatively or quantitatively."<ref name="HackmannReaders13" /><ref name="FR71USvsPresb" /> Scientific instruments were made by [[mathematical practitioner\|instrument maker]]s living near a center of learning or research, such as a university or research [[laboratory]]. Instrument makers designed, constructed, and refined instruments for purposes, but if demand was sufficient, an instrument would go into production as a commercial product.<ref name="TurnerEarly87">{{cite book \|title=Early Scientific Instruments: Europe, 1400-1800 \|author=Turner, A.J. \|publisher=Phillip Wilson Publishers \|year=1987 \|bibcode=1987esie.book.....T }}</ref><ref name="BediniEarly64">{{cite book \|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39141 \|title=Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers \|author=Bedini, S.A. \|publisher=Smithsonian Institution \|year=1964 \|access-date=18 January 2017}}</ref>

	In a description of the use of the [[eudiometer]] by [[Jan Ingenhousz]] to show [[photosynthesis]], a biographer observed, "The history of the use and evolution of this instrument helps to show that science is not just a theoretical endeavor but equally an activity grounded on an instrumental basis, which is a cocktail of instruments and techniques wrapped in a social setting within a community of practitioners. The eudiometer has been shown to be one of the elements in this mix that kept a whole community of researchers together, even while they were at odds about the significance and the proper use of the thing."<ref>Geerdt Magiels (2009) ''From Sunlight to Insight. Jan IngenHousz, the discovery of photosynthesis & science in the light of ecology'', page 231, VUB Press {{ISBN\|978-90-5487-645-8}}</ref>		In a description of the use of the [[eudiometer]] by [[Jan Ingenhousz]] to show [[photosynthesis]], a biographer observed, "The history of the use and evolution of this instrument helps to show that science is not just a theoretical endeavor but equally an activity grounded on an instrumental basis, which is a cocktail of instruments and techniques wrapped in a social setting within a community of practitioners. The eudiometer has been shown to be one of the elements in this mix that kept a whole community of researchers together, even while they were at odds about the significance and the proper use of the thing."<ref>Geerdt Magiels (2009) ''From Sunlight to Insight. Jan IngenHousz, the discovery of photosynthesis & science in the light of ecology'', page 231, VUB Press {{ISBN\|978-90-5487-645-8}}</ref>

	By World War II, the demand for improved analyses of wartime products such as medicines, fuels, and weaponized agents pushed instrumentation to new heights.<ref name="MukhopadhyayTheRise08">{{cite journal \|title=The Rise of Instruments during World War II \|journal=Analytical Chemistry \|author=Mukhopadhyay, R. \|volume=80 \|issue=15 \|pages=5684–5691 \|year=2008 \|doi=10.1021/ac801205u\|pmid=18671339 \|doi-access=~~free~~ }}</ref> Today, changes to instruments used in scientific ~~endeavors — particularly~~ analytical ~~instruments — are~~ occurring rapidly, with interconnections to computers and data management systems becoming increasingly necessary.<ref name="McMahonAnal07">{{cite book \|title=Analytical Instrumentation: A Guide to Laboratory, Portable and Miniaturized Instruments \|author=McMahon, G. \|publisher=John Wiley & Sons \|year=2007 \|pages=1–6 \|isbn=9780470518557 }}</ref><ref name="KhandpurHandbook15">{{cite book \|title=Handbook of Analytical Instruments \|author=Khandpur, R.S. \|publisher=McGraw Hill Education \|year=2016 \|isbn=9789339221362}}</ref>		By World War II, the demand for improved analyses of wartime products such as medicines, fuels, and weaponized agents pushed instrumentation to new heights.<ref name="MukhopadhyayTheRise08">{{cite journal \|title=The Rise of Instruments during World War II \|journal=Analytical Chemistry \|author=Mukhopadhyay, R. \|volume=80 \|issue=15 \|pages=5684–5691 \|year=2008 \|doi=10.1021/ac801205u\|pmid=18671339 \|doi-access= \|bibcode=2008AnaCh..80.5684M }}</ref> Today, changes to instruments used in scientific endeavors—particularly analytical instruments—are occurring rapidly, with interconnections to computers and data management systems becoming increasingly necessary.<ref name="McMahonAnal07">{{cite book \|title=Analytical Instrumentation: A Guide to Laboratory, Portable and Miniaturized Instruments \|author=McMahon, G. \|publisher=John Wiley & Sons \|year=2007 \|pages=1–6 \|isbn=9780470518557 }}</ref><ref name="KhandpurHandbook15">{{cite book \|title=Handbook of Analytical Instruments \|author=Khandpur, R.S. \|publisher=McGraw Hill Education \|year=2016 \|isbn=9789339221362}}</ref>

	==Scope==		==Scope==
	Scientific instruments vary greatly in size, shape, purpose, complication and complexity. They include relatively simple [[laboratory equipment]] like [[weighing scale\|scales]], [[ruler]]s, [[Chronometer watch\|chronometer]]s, [[thermometer]]s, etc. Other simple tools developed in the late 20th century or early 21st century are the [[Foldscope]] (an optical microscope), the SCALE(KAS Periodic Table),<ref name=ShadabKAS17>{{cite journal\|title=KAS PERIODIC TABLE\|journal=International Research Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences\|author=Shadab,K.A.\|volume=4\|issue=7\|pages=221–261\|year=2017}}</ref> the [[MasSpec Pen]] (a pen that detects cancer), the [[glucose meter]], etc. However, some scientific instruments can be quite large in size and significant in complexity, like [[particle collider]]s or [[radio-telescope]] antennas. Conversely, [[Micrometre\|microscale]] and [[Nanoscopic scale\|nanoscale]] technologies are advancing to the point where instrument sizes are shifting towards the tiny, including nanoscale [[surgical instrument]]s, biological [[Nanorobotics\|nanobots]], and [[bioelectronics]].<ref name="OsianderMicro16">{{cite book \|title=Systems Engineering for Microscale and Nanoscale Technologies \|author=Osiander, R. \|editor1=Darrin, M.A.G.\|editor2=Barth, J.L. \|publisher=CRC Press \|pages=137–172 \|year=2016 \|isbn=9781439837351}}</ref><ref name="JamesNeuron15">{{cite book \|author1=James, W.S.\|author2=Lemole Jr, G.M. \|title=Technological Advances in Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care \|editor1=Latifi, R.\|editor2=Rhee, P.\|editor3=Gruessner, R.W.G. \|publisher=Springer \|year=2015 \|pages=221–230 \|isbn=9781493926718}}</ref>		Scientific instruments vary greatly in size, shape, purpose, complication and complexity. They include relatively simple [[laboratory equipment]] like [[weighing scale\|scales]], [[ruler]]s, [[Chronometer watch\|chronometer]]s, [[thermometer]]s, etc. Other simple tools developed in the late 20th century or early 21st century are the [[Foldscope]] (an optical microscope), the SCALE(KAS Periodic Table),<ref name=ShadabKAS17>{{cite journal\|title=KAS PERIODIC TABLE\|journal=International Research Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences\|author=Shadab, K.A.\|volume=4\|issue=7\|pages=221–261\|year=2017}}</ref> the [[MasSpec Pen]] (a pen that detects cancer), the [[glucose meter]], etc. However, some scientific instruments can be quite large in size and significant in complexity, like [[particle collider]]s or [[radio-telescope]] antennas. Conversely, [[Micrometre\|microscale]] and [[Nanoscopic scale\|nanoscale]] technologies are advancing to the point where instrument sizes are shifting towards the tiny, including nanoscale [[surgical instrument]]s, biological [[Nanorobotics\|nanobots]], and [[bioelectronics]].<ref name="OsianderMicro16">{{cite book \|title=Systems Engineering for Microscale and Nanoscale Technologies \|author=Osiander, R. \|editor1=Darrin, M.A.G.\|editor2=Barth, J.L.\|editor2-link=Janet Barth \|publisher=CRC Press \|pages=137–172 \|year=2016 \|isbn=9781439837351}}</ref><ref name="JamesNeuron15">{{cite book \|author1=James, W.S.\|author2=Lemole Jr, G.M. \|title=Technological Advances in Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care \|editor1=Latifi, R.\|editor2=Rhee, P.\|editor3=Gruessner, R.W.G. \|publisher=Springer \|year=2015 \|pages=221–230 \|isbn=9781493926718}}</ref>

	==The digital era==		==The digital era==
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	* [[Inclinometer]], slope		* [[Inclinometer]], slope
	* [[Interferometer]], optics, infrared light spectra		* [[Interferometer]], optics, infrared light spectra
	* [[Magnetograph]], magnetic field		* [[Magnetic tweezers]], biomolecular manipulation
			* [[Magnetometer#Survey magnetometers\|Magnetograph]], magnetic field
	* [[Magnetometer]], [[magnetic flux]]		* [[Magnetometer]], [[magnetic flux]]
	* [[Manometer]], air [[pressure]]		* [[Manometer]], air [[pressure]]
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	* [[NMR spectrometer]], chemical compound identification, medical diagnostic imaging		* [[NMR spectrometer]], chemical compound identification, medical diagnostic imaging
	* [[Ohmmeter]], electrical resistance/impedance		* [[Ohmmeter]], electrical resistance/impedance
			* [[Optical tweezers]], nanoscale manipulation
	* [[Oscilloscope]], electric signal voltage, amplitude, wavelength, frequency, waveform shape/pattern		* [[Oscilloscope]], electric signal voltage, amplitude, wavelength, frequency, waveform shape/pattern
			* [[Photometer]], illuminance, irradiance, light absorption, scattering of light, reflection of light, fluorescence, phosphorescence, luminescence
	* [[Seismometer]], acceleration		* [[Seismometer]], acceleration
	* [[Spectrogram]], sound frequency, wavelength, amplitude		* [[Spectrogram]], sound frequency, wavelength, amplitude
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	* [[Theodolite]], angles, surveying		* [[Theodolite]], angles, surveying
	* [[Thermocouple]], temperature		* [[Thermocouple]], temperature
	* [[Voltmeter]], [[voltage]]}}		* [[Voltmeter]], [[voltage]]
			* [[X-ray scattering techniques]], structural characterization at the nano and atomic scale}}

	==List of scientific instruments manufacturers==		==List of scientific instruments manufacturers==
	{{columns-list\|colwidth=~~30em~~\|		{{columns-list\|colwidth=\|
	* [[454 Life Sciences]], United States of America		* [[454 Life Sciences]], United States of America
	* [[ADInstruments]], New Zealand		* [[ADInstruments]], New Zealand
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	* [[Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company]], United Kingdom		* [[Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company]], United Kingdom
	* [[Elementar]], Germany		* [[Elementar]], Germany
			* [[First Light Imaging]], France
	* [[Horiba]], Japan		* [[Horiba]], Japan
	* [[JEOL]], Japan		* [[JEOL]], Japan
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	* [[Malvern Instruments]], United Kingdom		* [[Malvern Instruments]], United Kingdom
	* [[McPherson Inc]], United States of America		* [[McPherson Inc]], United States of America
			* [[Metrohm]], Switzerland
	* [[Mettler Toledo]], Switzerland / United States of America		* [[Mettler Toledo]], Switzerland / United States of America
	* [[MTS Systems Corporation]], ~~USA~~, mechanical		* [[MTS Systems Corporation]], US, mechanical
	* [[Novacam Technologies]], Canada		* [[Novacam Technologies]], Canada
	* [[Oxford Instruments]], United Kingdom		* [[Oxford Instruments]], United Kingdom
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	* [[Thermo Fisher Scientific]], United States of America		* [[Thermo Fisher Scientific]], United States of America
	* [[Waters Corporation]], United States of America		* [[Waters Corporation]], United States of America
			* [[Xenocs]], France
	}}		}}

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	* [[Royal Victoria Gallery for the Encouragement of Practical Science]]		* [[Royal Victoria Gallery for the Encouragement of Practical Science]]
	* [[Whipple Museum of the History of Science]]		* [[Whipple Museum of the History of Science]]

	===Historiography===		===Historiography===
	* [[Paul Bunge Prize]]		* [[Paul Bunge Prize]]<ref>Charlotte Bigg & Christoph Meinel (eds.), ''[https://en.gdch.de/fileadmin/downloads/GDCh/Stiftungen/Jenemann/Bunge_Prize_Jubilee_Volume_2023.pdf Paul Bunge Prize: History of Scientific Instruments, 1993-2023]'' (Frankfurt/Main: GDCh & DBG, 2023), 96 pp.</ref>

	==Types of scientific instruments==		==Types of scientific instruments==
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	{{Reflist\|30em}}		{{Reflist\|30em}}

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	[[Category:Scientific instruments\| ]]		[[Category:Scientific instruments\| ]]
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	~~{{Portal bar\|History\|Medicine\|Museums\|Physics\|Astronomy\|Stars\|Society\|Science}}~~
	{{Authority control}}		{{Authority control}}

	[[Category:Scientific instruments\| ]]		[[Category:Scientific instruments\| ]]
	[[Category:Science-related lists]]		[[Category:Science-related lists]]

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{{Short description|Device or tool used for scientific purposes}}
{{broader|Equipment}}
A '''scientific instrument''' is a device or tool used for [[scientific]] purposes, including the study of both natural phenomena and theoretical research.<ref name="HackmannReaders13">{{cite book |title=Reader's Guide to the History of Science | first1=Arne |last1=Hessenbruch |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2013 |pages=675–77 |isbn=9781134263011 }}</ref>

==History==
Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, and historical time period.<ref name="HackmannReaders13" /><ref name="Warner">{{cite journal | title=What Is a Scientific Instrument, When Did It Become One, and Why? | author=Warner, Deborah Jean | journal=The British Journal for the History of Science | volume=23 | number=1 | date=March 1990 | pages=83–93 | jstor=4026803 | doi=10.1017/S0007087400044460 }}</ref><ref name="FR71USvsPresb">{{cite journal |title=United States v. Presbyterian Hospital |journal=The Federal Reporter |volume=71 |pages=866–868 |year=1896}}</ref> Before the mid-nineteenth [https://successstudy92.blogspot.com/2020/07/important-scientific-instruments.html century] such tools were referred to as "natural philosophical" or "philosophical" apparatus and instruments, and older tools from antiquity to the [[Middle Ages]] (such as the [[astrolabe]] and [[pendulum clock]]) defy a more modern definition of "a tool developed to investigate nature qualitatively or quantitatively."<ref name="HackmannReaders13" /><ref name="FR71USvsPresb" /> Scientific instruments were made by instrument makers living near a center of learning or research, such as a university or research [[laboratory]]. Instrument makers designed, constructed, and refined instruments for purposes, but if demand was sufficient, an instrument would go into production as a commercial product.<ref name="TurnerEarly87">{{cite book |title=Early Scientific Instruments: Europe, 1400-1800 |author=Turner, A.J. |publisher=Phillip Wilson Publishers |year=1987}}</ref><ref name="BediniEarly64">{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39141 |title=Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers |author=Bedini, S.A. |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |year=1964 |access-date=18 January 2017}}</ref>

In a description of the use of the [[eudiometer]] by [[Jan Ingenhousz]] to show [[photosynthesis]], a biographer observed, "The history of the use and evolution of this instrument helps to show that science is not just a theoretical endeavor but equally an activity grounded on an instrumental basis, which is a cocktail of instruments and techniques wrapped in a social setting within a community of practitioners. The eudiometer has been shown to be one of the elements in this mix that kept a whole community of researchers together, even while they were at odds about the significance and the proper use of the thing."<ref>Geerdt Magiels (2009) ''From Sunlight to Insight. Jan IngenHousz, the discovery of photosynthesis & science in the light of ecology'', page 231, VUB Press {{ISBN|978-90-5487-645-8}}</ref>

By World War II, the demand for improved analyses of wartime products such as medicines, fuels, and weaponized agents pushed instrumentation to new heights.<ref name="MukhopadhyayTheRise08">{{cite journal |title=The Rise of Instruments during World War II |journal=Analytical Chemistry |author=Mukhopadhyay, R. |volume=80 |issue=15 |pages=5684–5691 |year=2008 |doi=10.1021/ac801205u|pmid=18671339 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Today, changes to instruments used in scientific endeavors — particularly analytical instruments — are occurring rapidly, with interconnections to computers and data management systems becoming increasingly necessary.<ref name="McMahonAnal07">{{cite book |title=Analytical Instrumentation: A Guide to Laboratory, Portable and Miniaturized Instruments |author=McMahon, G. |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2007 |pages=1–6 |isbn=9780470518557 }}</ref><ref name="KhandpurHandbook15">{{cite book |title=Handbook of Analytical Instruments |author=Khandpur, R.S. |publisher=McGraw Hill Education |year=2016 |isbn=9789339221362}}</ref>

==Scope==
Scientific instruments vary greatly in size, shape, purpose, complication and complexity. They include relatively simple [[laboratory equipment]] like [[weighing scale|scales]], [[ruler]]s, [[Chronometer watch|chronometer]]s, [[thermometer]]s, etc. Other simple tools developed in the late 20th century or early 21st century are the [[Foldscope]] (an optical microscope), the SCALE(KAS Periodic Table),<ref name=ShadabKAS17>{{cite journal|title=KAS PERIODIC TABLE|journal=International Research Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences|author=Shadab,K.A.|volume=4|issue=7|pages=221–261|year=2017}}</ref> the [[MasSpec Pen]] (a pen that detects cancer), the [[glucose meter]], etc. However, some scientific instruments can be quite large in size and significant in complexity, like [[particle collider]]s or [[radio-telescope]] antennas. Conversely, [[Micrometre|microscale]] and [[Nanoscopic scale|nanoscale]] technologies are advancing to the point where instrument sizes are shifting towards the tiny, including nanoscale [[surgical instrument]]s, biological [[Nanorobotics|nanobots]], and [[bioelectronics]].<ref name="OsianderMicro16">{{cite book |title=Systems Engineering for Microscale and Nanoscale Technologies |author=Osiander, R. |editor1=Darrin, M.A.G.|editor2=Barth, J.L. |publisher=CRC Press |pages=137–172 |year=2016 |isbn=9781439837351}}</ref><ref name="JamesNeuron15">{{cite book |author1=James, W.S.|author2=Lemole Jr, G.M. |title=Technological Advances in Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care |editor1=Latifi, R.|editor2=Rhee, P.|editor3=Gruessner, R.W.G. |publisher=Springer |year=2015 |pages=221–230 |isbn=9781493926718}}</ref>

==The digital era==
Instruments are increasingly based upon [[system integration|integration]] with [[computer]]s to improve and simplify control; enhance and extend instrumental functions, conditions, and parameter adjustments; and streamline data sampling, collection, resolution, analysis (both during and post-process), and storage and retrieval. Advanced instruments can be connected as a [[local area network]] (LAN) directly or via [[middleware]] and can be further integrated as part of an [[information management]] application such as a [[laboratory information management system]] (LIMS).<ref name="WilkesIntegration94solygtj">{{cite journal |title=Integration of instruments and a laboratory information management system at the information level: An inductively coupled plasma spectrometer |journal=Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems |author1=Wilkes, R.|author2=Megargle, R. |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=47–54 |year=1994 |doi=10.1016/0169-7439(94)90018-3}}</ref><ref name="CarvalhoIntegration13">{{cite journal |title=Integration of Analytical Instruments with Computer Scripting |journal=Journal of Laboratory Automation |author=Carvalho, M.C. |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=328–33 |year=2013 |doi=10.1177/2211068213476288|pmid=23413273 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Instrument connectivity can be furthered even more using [[internet of things]] (IoT) technologies, allowing for example laboratories separated by great distances to connect their instruments to a network that can be monitored from a workstation or mobile device elsewhere.<ref name="PerkelTheInternet17">{{cite journal |title=The Internet of Things comes to the lab |journal=Nature |author=Perkel, J.M. |volume=542 |issue=7639 |pages=125–126 |year=2017 |doi=10.1038/542125a|pmid=28150787 |bibcode=2017Natur.542..125P |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Examples of scientific instruments==
{{For|lists of astronomical instruments|List of telescope types|List of astronomical interferometers at visible and infrared wavelengths}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Accelerometer]], physical, [[acceleration]]
* [[Ammeter]], electrical, amperage, [[Electric current|current]]
* [[Anemometer]], wind speed
* [[Caliper]], distance
* [[Calorimeter]], [[heat]]
* [[DNA sequencer]], molecular biology
* [[Dynamometer]], [[torque]]/[[force]]
* [[Electrometer]], [[electric charge]], [[potential difference]]
* [[Electroscope]], electric charge
* [[Electrostatic analyzer]], [[kinetic energy]] of charged particles
* [[Ellipsometer]], optical refractive indices
* [[Eudiometer]], gas volume
* [[Gravimeter]], [[gravity]]
* [[Hydrometer]]
* [[Inclinometer]], slope
* [[Interferometer]], optics, infrared light spectra
* [[Magnetograph]], magnetic field
* [[Magnetometer]], [[magnetic flux]]
* [[Manometer]], air [[pressure]]
* [[Mass spectrometer]], compound identification/characterization
* [[Micrometer (device)|Micrometer]], distance
* [[Microscope]], optical magnification
* [[NMR spectrometer]], chemical compound identification, medical diagnostic imaging
* [[Ohmmeter]], electrical resistance/impedance
* [[Oscilloscope]], electric signal voltage, amplitude, wavelength, frequency, waveform shape/pattern
* [[Seismometer]], acceleration
* [[Spectrogram]], sound frequency, wavelength, amplitude
* [[Spectrometer]], light frequency, wavelength, amplitude
* [[Telescope]], light magnification (astronomy)
* [[Thermometer]], temperature measurement
* [[Theodolite]], angles, surveying
* [[Thermocouple]], temperature
* [[Voltmeter]], [[voltage]]}}

==List of scientific instruments manufacturers==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[454 Life Sciences]], United States of America
* [[ADInstruments]], New Zealand
* [[Agilent Technologies]], United States of America
* [[Anton Paar]], Austria
* [[A. Reyrolle & Company]]
* [[Beckman Coulter]], United States of America
* [[Bruker]], United States of America
* [[Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company]], United Kingdom
* [[Elementar]], Germany
* [[Horiba]], Japan
* [[JEOL]], Japan
* [[LECO Corporation]], United States of America
* [[Markes International]], United Kingdom
* [[Malvern Instruments]], United Kingdom
* [[McPherson Inc]], United States of America
* [[Mettler Toledo]], Switzerland / United States of America
* [[MTS Systems Corporation]], USA, mechanical
* [[Novacam Technologies]], Canada
* [[Oxford Instruments]], United Kingdom
* [[Pall Corp.]], United States of America
* [[PerkinElmer]], United States of America
* [[Polymer Char]], Spain
* [[Shimadzu Corp.]], Japan
* [[Techtron]], Melbourne, Australia
* [[Thermo Fisher Scientific]], United States of America
* [[Waters Corporation]], United States of America
}}

==List of scientific instruments designers==
{{See also|List of astronomical instrument makers|Category:Scientific instrument makers|Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers}}
* [[William Jones (optician)|Jones, William]]
* [[Petrus Jacobus Kipp|Kipp, Petrus Jacobus]]
* [[Gustave Le Bon|Le Bon, Gustave]]
* [[Arjen Roelofs|Roelofs, Arjen]]
* [[Johannes Schöner|Schöner, Johannes]]
* [[Georg Friedrich von Reichenbach|Von Reichenbach, Georg Friedrich]]

==History of scientific instruments==
===Museums===
* [[Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments|Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments (CHSI)]]
* [[Boerhaave Museum]]
* [[Chemical Heritage Foundation]]
* [[Deutsches Museum]]
* [[Royal Victoria Gallery for the Encouragement of Practical Science]]
* [[Whipple Museum of the History of Science]]
===Historiography===
* [[Paul Bunge Prize]]

==Types of scientific instruments==
* [[Optical instrument]]
* [[Electronic test equipment]]

==See also==
* [[Instrumentation]]
* [[Instrumentalism]], a philosophic theory
* [[List of collectibles]]
* {{Wiktionary-inline|-tron}}, a suffix to denote a complex scientific instrument, like in [[cyclotron]], [[phytotron]], [[synchrotron]], ...

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

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