Errors vs uncertainty vs measurement uncertainty

Experience from the realm of scientific conferences around the world reveals that many authors and presenters are unconsciously often shifting between the term error and the term uncertainty without a clear vision of what is the subtle difference between them. The same applies to a large swath of the scientific literature, in which these two concepts are often used synonymously-a scientific flaw of the first order. There is always a difference, regardless of how small, signifying a non-zero difference between the true, unknown content a_L of a lot L and the estimated (analysed) content of a sample hereof, a_S. Is this difference an error or an uncertainty? Many practitioners will call it an error. This estimate of the lot concentration per force has to be made based on the minute (hopefully representative) analytical aliquot. As is well-known within the sampling community it is all about how to be able to secure a documentable representative analytical sample “from-lot-to-aliquot” upon which to carry out valid analysis.