Segment Information (Segment Results) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 28, 2012	Jun. 29, 2012	Mar. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jul. 01, 2011	Apr. 01, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012 Reporting_Unit	Dec. 31, 2011 Reporting_Unit	Dec. 31, 2010 Reporting_Unit
Number of segments									5	5	5
Capital expenditures, gross									$ 458.3	$ 334.5	$ 191.1
Sales	4,975.2	4,415.5	4,553.5	4,316.2	4,716.6	4,445.8	3,635.9	3,292.2	18,260.4	16,090.5	12,550.0
Operating Profit	863.1	755.8	811.3	734.9	779.2	643.1	610.0	584.9	3,165.1	2,617.2	2,049.6
Identifiable Assets (including assets held for sale)	32,941.0				29,949.5				32,941.0	29,949.5	22,217.1
Depreciation and Amortization									839.8	635.0	388.3
Test & Measurement
Capital expenditures, gross									37.5	37.7	35.6
Sales									3,381.0	3,390.9	2,832.9
Operating Profit									701.2	751.2	572.9
Identifiable Assets (including assets held for sale)	5,505.8				5,280.6				5,505.8	5,280.6	5,322.9
Depreciation and Amortization									132.3	126.6	107.7
Environmental
Capital expenditures, gross									29.5	29.1	25.4
Sales									3,063.5	2,939.6	2,738.0
Operating Profit									652.5	622.7	564.3
Identifiable Assets (including assets held for sale)	3,146.6				2,784.8				3,146.6	2,784.8	2,634.9
Depreciation and Amortization									48.9	45.9	45.9
Life Sciences & Diagnostics
Capital expenditures, gross									296.8	167.0	49.6
Sales									6,485.1	4,627.4	2,298.3
Operating Profit									861.1	402.3	227.9
Identifiable Assets (including assets held for sale)	13,305.2				12,888.4				13,305.2	12,888.4	4,071.7
Depreciation and Amortization									478.2	297.2	90.7
Dental
Capital expenditures, gross									30.2	35.4	31.8
Sales									2,022.9	2,011.2	1,824.6
Operating Profit									293.1	236.1	203.3
Identifiable Assets (including assets held for sale)	4,079.9				4,047.5				4,079.9	4,047.5	4,120.2
Depreciation and Amortization									92.4	94.0	81.7
Industrial Technologies
Capital expenditures, gross									49.0	51.3	35.4
Sales									3,307.9	3,121.4	2,540.6
Operating Profit									685.6	655.0	513.3
Identifiable Assets (including assets held for sale)	4,235.6				3,394.9				4,235.6	3,394.9	2,876.8
Depreciation and Amortization									80.8	65.8	51.5
Businesses contributed to Apex joint venture attributable to periods prior to contribution
Capital expenditures, gross									0	0	6.9
Sales									0	0	315.6
Depreciation and Amortization									0	0	6.2
Attributable to periods prior to contribution
Operating Profit									0	0	41.5
Equity method earnings subsequent to joint venture formation
Operating Profit									69.9	66.8	22.8
Other
Capital expenditures, gross									15.3	14.0	6.4
Operating Profit									(98.3)	(116.9)	(96.4)
Identifiable Assets (including assets held for sale)	2,667.9				1,553.3				2,667.9	1,553.3	3,190.6
Depreciation and Amortization									$ 7.2	$ 5.5	$ 4.6