Interpreting the probe-surface interaction of surface measuring instruments, or what is a surface?

When using dimensional measuring instruments it is assumed that there is a property of the object, which we call surface, that is present before during and after the measurement, i.e. the surface is a fundamental property of an object that can, by appropriate means, be used to measure geometry. This paper will attempt to show that the fundamental property ‘surface’ does not exist in any simple form and that all the information we can have about a surface is the measurement data, which will include measurement uncertainty. Measurement data, or what will be referred to as the measured surface, is all that really exists. In this paper the basic physical differences between mechanically, electromagnetically and electrically measured surfaces are highlighted and discussed and accompanied by measurement results on a roughness artefact.