For scientists and engineers, measurement and measurement devices are the only way to analyze, explore, probe, study and discover the truth about details not readily obvious. The development of measurement science and measurement devices is the story of civilization's rise from the stone age to the modern age. The measurement devices just kept getting better and better. Along with it our knowledge of our world expands even faster. Without good measurements we would still be without electricity, wireless communications, and many of the things that we take for granted.
Technology is another word for the results of theories proven by measurement.
We don't hear much about the many more theories that didn't prove to work, but there are more of them than proven ones. The proof and disproof depends upon measurements. There are some excellent reviews of the history of measurement available on the Web. One recently published is in an article on calibration of optical power meters in the August 1998 H-P Journal. The rest of this site is aimed at making the tasks of finding Web-based information about measurement devices and their selection, use, care and understanding a bit easier.