If you’re outfitting a low-vibration imaging suite or laboratory, you’ve probably had to read a few tool installation guides for off-the-shelf (as opposed to hand-built) instruments. One problem with floor vibration criteria for laboratory instruments is that—unless we helped develop the criterion—we never get to see an “error-vs-vibration” dataset.

Many laboratory instruments are exquisitely sensitive to “energetic contaminants” like vibration, noise, and electromagnetic interference. It’s not always easy reading and interpreting these criteria; they’re sometimes confusing even to vibration consultants. But to be honest, it’s not easy developing them, either. So, where do these criteria come from, and what do they mean?