concept

precision

The closeness of agreement between repeated measurements of the same quantity, indicating the repeatability of a sensor.
4 related articles

Description

Precision is a measure of how consistently a sensor or measurement procedure yields the same result when the same quantity is measured repeatedly under unchanged conditions. It is a statement about the spread or scatter of the data points around their average, not about whether that average is correct. A precise instrument produces tightly clustered readings, while an imprecise one produces widely scattered ones, even if the average of those readings happens to be accurate.

How it works

Precision is quantified statistically, typically as the standard deviation or variance of a set of repeated measurements. The smaller the standard deviation, the higher the precision. It is distinct from accuracy, which describes how close the average of the measurements is to the true value. A sensor can be precise but inaccurate (systematically offset) or accurate but imprecise (large random scatter). In practice, precision is limited by random noise sources, such as thermal fluctuations, electronic noise, or mechanical vibrations, which cause the sensor's output to vary from one trial to the next.

In practice

Precision is a key specification for all measurement instruments, from laboratory balances and thermometers to GPS receivers and particle detectors, where it determines the smallest resolvable difference in the measured quantity.

Fun fact

In metrology, the term 'precision' is sometimes replaced by 'repeatability' to emphasize that it refers to the agreement between results obtained under the same conditions, not the closeness to a true value.

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Related articles · 4

Machine Learning2026-07-151 minarXiv:2607.13891express
Radar Without Learning: How PiVoT Turns Noise into Order
A regular radar is like a microphone in a buzzing crowd: individual sounds blend into mush. PiVoT works like a conductor who instantly recognizes each instrument in the tuning chaos. Instead of shuffling through hypotheses, the algorithm tightens a loop around the most likely targets — cars, cyclists, pedestrians.
HEP Experiment2026-03-181 minarXiv:2603.17951express
The Invisible Nudge: How Neutrinos Strike the Nucleus
A tiny ghostly particle zips through a piece of germanium. Usually it leaves no trace, but sometimes, like a billiard ball, it smacks into an atom's nucleus. The nucleus recoils, and that jolt can be detected. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Ge-Mini detector caught such recoils for two years. Neutrinos are the most elusive of known particles.
Depth as a Measure of Natural Complexity
A team assembling a jigsaw puzzle from random pieces: how many simultaneous moves does it take to complete the picture? If the pieces are independent, they all go down at once. If each piece depends on the previous one, you have to work one at a time. So it is with systems: some states assemble instantly, others require a long sequential effort.
cs.PL2011-09-053 minarXiv:1109.0786
Properties as a Compass: Precise Programming
Fog thickens over the line "def max(a: Int, b: Int): Int". What does it do? It returns the larger of two numbers, but how can you verify that? You could write a dozen tests with specific pairs: max(2,3)=3, max(5,5)=5, max(-1,0)=0. Still, a nagging doubt remains: what if it breaks for, say, a million and minus a million?