ABSTRACT
In particle morphology studies, the data are often obtained from some instrument which digitizes the particle profile. This chapter develops a criterion for determining how to smooth a particle profile in an optimal manner. Such smoothing is necessary in order to avoid over-fitting a set of data which contains errors of various types. The amount of smoothing that should be applied to a given particle image is dependent upon the size of the errors in measurement. The chapter shows how the error variability can be quantified and examines the method by which the data are obtained. There is a danger of over-fitting the profile, that is, extracting "information" that is not actually present in the particle itself, but rather is a consequence of the digitization procedure.
