A figure of merit is a quantity used to characterize the performance of a device, system or method, relative to its alternatives. In engineering, figures of merit are often defined for particular materials or devices in order to determine their relative utility for an application. In commerce, such figures are often used as a marketing tool to convince consumers to choose a particular brand.

figure of merit-aviation

Wow. that is really complicated.

A "figure of merit" is to make up a system with which to measure something, that's all.

Merit means "worth". So how good, or how strong, or how big is this thing? We can divide things up into inches, pounds, or degrees. those are all "figures of merit".

Some things are a little harder to conceptualize, like the value of a tuned inductive/ capacitive circuit in electronics.

So they assign a value they call "Q". And electronic students all ask, "What in the world is "Q"?

And the electronic teacher replies that it is simply a "figure of merit", a means of telling that this particular tuned circuit is so much better than another tuned circuit.

It's really a simple concept, but it seems hard. Think of it simply and you will understand.