In order to obtain information from the outside world, people must rely on sensory organs. It is not enough to study the natural phenomena and regularity, and the function of the production activities by people's own sensory organ alone. To accommodate this situation, sensors are required. Therefore, it can be said that the sensor is the extension of human facial features, also known as electrical features.
The advent of the new technological revolution, the world began to enter the information age. In the process of utilizing information, the first thing to solve is to obtain accurate and reliable information, and sensors are the main ways and means to acquire the information in the field of nature and production.
In modern industrial production, especially in the process of automated production, various sensors are used to monitor and control the parameters in the production process, so that the equipment works in the normal state or the best state, and to achieve the best quality products. Therefore, it can be said that there are not many excellent sensors, modern production also lost the foundation.
In the research of basic disciplines, sensors are more prominent. The development of modern science and technology has entered a number of new areas: for example, on the macroscopic view of the vast universe of thousands of light years, microscopic to observe the particles of small to cm in the world, longitudinal to observe the evolution of the celestial body for hundreds of thousands of years, short to s instantaneous reaction. In addition, the deepening of the material understanding, new energy, materials and other important role of various extreme technology research, such as ultra-high temperature, ultra-low temperature, ultra-high pressure, ultra high vacuum, ultra strong magnetic field, ultra weak magnetic Dangshan pear and so on. Obviously, it is impossible to acquire a large number of information that the human senses cannot get directly, without adapting sensors. Many basic scientific research barriers, first in the object information is difficult to acquire, while some new mechanisms and high sensitivity detection sensors, often lead to breakthroughs in this field. The development of some sensors is often a pioneer in the development of some marginal disciplines.
The sensors have long penetrated the realm of extreme generics such as industrial production, cosmic development, marine exploration, environmental protection, resource surveys, medical diagnostics, bioengineering, and even cultural relics protection. It is no exaggeration to say, from the boundless space, to the vast ocean, and even a variety of complex engineering systems, almost every modern project, all kinds of sensors are inseparable.