Financing (Other Long-Term Indebtedness) (Narrative) (Details)			0 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended				0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			1 Months Ended						12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Jul. 21, 2006 Eurobond Notes USD ($)	Jul. 21, 2006 Eurobond Notes EUR (€)	Jun. 23, 2011 Senior Notes 2013 Notes USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 2013 Notes	Jun. 23, 2011 Senior Notes 2014 Notes	Dec. 31, 2014 Senior Notes 2014 Notes USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 Senior Notes 2014 Notes	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 2014 Notes USD ($)	Jun. 23, 2011 Senior Notes 2016 Notes	Dec. 31, 2014 Senior Notes 2016 Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 2016 Notes USD ($)	Jun. 23, 2011 Senior Notes 2021 Notes	Dec. 31, 2014 Senior Notes 2021 Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 2021 Notes USD ($)	Jun. 23, 2011 Senior Notes Aggregate June 2011 Debt Proceeds Beckman Coulter USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2009 Senior Notes 2019 Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Senior Notes 2019 Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 2019 Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2007 Senior Notes 2018 Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Senior Notes 2018 Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 2018 Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Bonds 2016 Bonds USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Bonds 2016 Bonds CHF	Dec. 31, 2013 Bonds 2016 Bonds USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 Convertible Debt 2021 LYONS USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Convertible Debt 2021 LYONS USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Convertible Debt 2021 LYONS USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2001 Convertible Debt 2021 LYONS USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior Notes					$ 300,000,000			$ 0		$ 400,000,000		$ 500,000,000	$ 500,000,000		$ 600,000,000	$ 600,000,000			$ 750,000,000	$ 750,000,000		$ 500,000,000	$ 500,000,000
Debt instrument, percentage of face value received from issuance					100.00%		99.918%				99.84%			99.975%				99.93%			99.39%
Basis spread percentage to determine floating interest rate						0.25%
Interest rate of debt instrument									1.30%			2.30%			3.90%				5.40%			5.625%		4.00%	4.00%		0.00%			2.375%
Long-term borrowings, liabilities																								133,000,000	127,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, effective percentage																								0.20%	0.20%
Net proceeds from debt			627,000,000	496,000,000													1,800,000,000	745,000,000			493,000,000
Interest payments																											2,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000
Other	118,300,000	144,900,000																						129,900,000	120,000,000	0
Principal amount of debt issued																														830,000,000
Net proceeds from borrowings																														505,000,000
Repayment of debt																														100,000,000
Convertible portion of debt instrument																														$ 1,000
Number of shares converted to through one convertible bond																														29.0704
Shares issued under debt conversion																											20,000,000			24,000,000
Average market price percentage for measurement period resulting in payment of contingent interest to debt instrument holders																											120.00%
Percentage of bonds' average market price																											0.0315%