An instrument designed to compute the volume of fluid that passes a given point per unit time. As an illustration, consider a scenario where water flows through a pipe. This device determines the amount of water, measured in units like cubic meters or gallons, that moves past a specific cross-section of the pipe every second or minute.
Quantifying fluid movement is crucial across a range of disciplines, including engineering, chemical processing, and environmental science. Accurate measurement enables efficient system design, process control, and resource management. Historically, these calculations were performed manually, a process that was both time-consuming and prone to error. The advent of automated computation has significantly improved accuracy and efficiency in these fields.