[NeXus-committee] Terminology: "experiment" vs "beamline"

[Osborn, Raymond]

Dear colleagues,
If NeXus is also handling processed data, then it may well combine results from more than one beamline, or even more than one facility. We plan to do joint refinements of x-ray and neutron diffuse scattering, combining both with simulations. I may want to store them in a single NeXus file. Note that “experiment” is used in the phrase, "NeXus defines a format that can serve as a container for all relevant data associated with an experiment.” The format allows more than one NXentry group from more than one beamline to be stored in this container. There may be a better word than “experiment” but I think “beamline” is too restrictive.

Best regards,
Ray
P.S. In my Mac’s dictionary, “experiment” is "a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.” 

On Sep 11, 2014, at 3:23 AM, Joachim Wuttke <j.wuttke at fz-juelich.de> wrote:

> Dear colleagues:
> 
> Ray's proposed rewording
>  > I also switched “experiment” for “beamline”
> suggests that we need to clarify terminology.
> 
> In my understanding:
>   "beamline" = "instrument":
>      relatively stable apparatus used to perform
>      many different experiments
>   "experiment":
>      a sequence of measurements undertaken by one
>      team, using one instrument, based on one proposal.
> 
> Equating "beamline" and "experiment" would sound
> utterly confusing to me.
> 
> Best - Joachim
> 
> 
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-- 
Ray Osborn, Senior Scientist
Materials Science Division
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, IL 60439, USA
Phone: +1 (630) 252-9011
Email: ROsborn at anl.gov