Terminology

So much disambiguation to do... This is a work in progress.

Detector

Assesses measurements/values – from one or more sensors and/or data sources – against thresholds, bounds or criteria.

Example: Lightning detection can be optical (energy spike at 7774 Ångströms), acoustic (sound pattern), electromagnetic, etc.

Instrument (Scientific)

Processes data from one or more sensors and/or detectors to provide information in a consistent format

Example: Fulmenometer processes optical, acoustic and electromagnetic data

Sensor

An electronic component which measures specific phenomena, sometimes augmented with data processing

Examples: Photodiode, microphone, magnetomer, etc.