R Willink 2009 Metrologia 46 145 doi:10.1088/0026-1394/46/3/001
R Willink
Show affiliationsThe law of propagation of uncertainty requires the proper treatment of dependence between the estimates of quantities influencing the measurement. Sometimes these estimates are themselves obtained in previous separate measurements, and the correlation between these estimates is not recorded. In such a case, the corresponding correlation coefficient or covariance will wrongly be deemed to be zero. In other situations, the number of input or output quantities might be large and information about dependence might not be recorded because of the apparent need for the construction of a large matrix of covariances. This paper presents (i) a method whereby information about dependence is recorded in a table with, typically, fewer columns than the matrix and (ii) a corresponding re-expression of the law of propagation of uncertainty. Examples of the application of the method are given.
06.20.fb Standards and calibration
06.30.-k Measurements common to several branches of physics and astronomy
Issue 3 (June 2009)
Received 2 September 2008, in final form 24 November 2008
Published 2 February 2009
R Willink 2009 Metrologia 46 145
N Fanidakis et al 2009 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 189 012013
M Cabannes et al 2004 Meas. Sci. Technol. 15 1211
The Open Science Grid Executive Board on behalf of the Osg Consortium: Ruth Pordes et al 2007 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 78 012057
Mark W Keller 2008 Metrologia 45 102
T Pisarkiewicz 1979 J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 12 225
M B Ewing et al 1986 Metrologia 22 93
Francisco M Martinez-Santiesteban et al 2007 Phys. Med. Biol. 52 2073
S. Ghosh et al 2004 Europhys. Lett. 65 678
R Carretero-González et al 2008 Nonlinearity 21 R139