B Overview of identification methods

[physea]

Hello!
There are several methods to identify 'things'. For example, you can use magnetic field and its distortions will identify 'things'. Or you can use infrared light. Can you tell me please all the available methods? I am sorry I cannot word this better.
Thanks!

 

[Drakkith]

Can you tell me please all the available methods?

No, as the list would be far too long. But here are a few general categories:

Microscopes, optical and electron.
Telescopes and other optical devices for viewing things at a distance using EM radiation of any wavelength.
Devices that detect electric or magnetic fields.
Devices that physically touch something.

And more.

Also, this thread should be marked with a category of B, not A. Marking a thread as Advanced means you want a graduate-level discussion, with all the math involved. This is a B thread.

 

[berkeman]

Also, this thread should be marked with a category of B, not A. Marking a thread as Advanced means you want a graduate-level discussion, with all the math involved. This is a B thread.

Done.

@physea -- post links to the reading you have been doing on this. Google is your friend.

 

[sophiecentaur]

There are several methods to identify 'things'.

Your question is very open ended and there is no way to answer it fully but there are basic ideas which you could consider. There are two aspects to this problem (perhaps more). Firstly you have to decide on the relevant factors with which your 'thing' can be distinguished from other 'things' and to be able to measure enough of those factors accurately enough. That will give you a list of parameters which can be evaluated (measured) and you can assign 'qualities' to the thing. Then you need to compare set of parameters / qualities for your particular object with a set of similar parameters for other objects and decide how well your set match the set for another object. On some basis, you can classify your 'thing' as being part of a set of other 'things' by how many of the parameters are near enough the same.
The field of Taxonomy is particularly interesting in the context of Artificial Intelligence and it is a serious problem. Humans can be very inventive in deciding how to classify things - I believe the brain works basically in this way when dealing with everything - objects, actions or relationships between things. AI systems tend to need to be taught alternative ways of achieving this instinctive learning / memory process because most machines just do not work that way. Certainly, a conventional digital computer is very badly suited to that sort of thing.
Which particular aspect of this problem is your question aimed at?