: Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, and historical time period, the demand for improved analyses of wartime products such as medicines, fuels and weaponize agents pushed instrumentation to new heights. Today, changes to instruments used in scientific endeavors — particularly analytical instruments — are occurring rapidly, with interconnections to computers and data management systems becoming increasingly necessary.
A scientific instrument is an instrument used for scientific purpose. Most are measurement instruments. They may be specifically designed, constructed and refined for the purpose.