1. Assessing the value of information provided by a measuring device

1.1 Matching the measurement process to the characteristics of the quantity to be measured

The signal to be measured is rarely simple, such as a rigorously continuous and perfectly stable voltage.

• If it varies periodically, the measuring device must be chosen to provide the desired value, e.g. mean value, RMS value, peak value...

• If the signal exhibits repetitive peaks of noticeable amplitude, make sure they are not clipped by the measuring device.

• Some electrical quantities need to be measured under the conditions in which they are to be used: for example, the capacitance of certain capacitors is largely dependent on the frequency...