Acquisitions (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended								1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 Tribology business	Oct. 31, 2011 Tribology business	Dec. 31, 2011 Tribology business Existing technology and related patents	Dec. 31, 2011 Tribology business Customer and distributor relationships	Dec. 31, 2011 Tribology business In-process research and development	Apr. 30, 2011 HPLC business	Dec. 31, 2011 HPLC business	Apr. 30, 2011 HPLC business Restricted common stock Y	Dec. 31, 2011 HPLC business Existing technology and related patents Y	Dec. 31, 2011 HPLC business Customer and distributor relationships Y	Dec. 31, 2011 HPLC business Trade names	Dec. 31, 2011 Nano surfaces business	Dec. 31, 2010 Nano surfaces business	Dec. 31, 2009 Nano surfaces business	Oct. 31, 2010 Nano surfaces business	Dec. 31, 2011 Nano surfaces business Existing technology and related patents	Dec. 31, 2011 Nano surfaces business Customer and distributor relationships	Dec. 31, 2011 Nano surfaces business In-process research and development	Dec. 31, 2011 Chemical Analysis	May 31, 2010 Chemical Analysis	Dec. 31, 2011 Chemical Analysis Existing technology and related patents	Dec. 31, 2011 Chemical Analysis Customer and distributor relationships
Consideration Transferred:
Cash paid					$ 12.7				$ 1.1									$ 230.4					$ 37.5
Contingent consideration arrangement					1.5
Shares of common stock issued									134,362		156,823
Vesting period (in years)											5
Cash consideration financed through revolving credit agreement																		167.6
Percentage of total shares paid into escrow									10.00%
Purchase price paid into escrow					1.6				0.1									22.9
Stock issued									2.9
Cash acquired					(0.2)				(0.2)
Total consideration transferred				12.5	12.5				3.8	3.8					230.4			230.4				37.5	37.5
Allocation of Consideration Transferred:
Accounts receivable				1.5						0.2					21.8
Notes Receivable																						10.3
Inventory				1.0						1.3					33.5							16.9
Other current assets															8.1
Property, plant and equipment										0.2					18.0							2.4
Intangible assets						12.0	0.6	0.1				1.3	1.5	0.1					89.7	1.5	21.3			7.1	15.8
Goodwill				3.5						1.2					49.0							0.4
Liabilities assumed				(6.2)						(2.0)					(12.5)							(15.4)
Gain on bargain purchase			(1.3)
Total consideration transferred				12.5	12.5				3.8	3.8					230.4			230.4				37.5	37.5
Closing market price of the Companys common shares									$ 21.28
Weighted average amortization period (in years)												7.1	6.8
Transaction cost included in other charges	3.1	4.6								1.1
Measurement period adjustments made to the acquisition date fair values															2.0
Transition costs	3.0	2.8
Professional fees	1.2	1.8	0.8
Pro forma financial information
Revenue																1,410.7	1,211.8
Net income attributable to Bruker Corporation																$ 97.0	$ 55.3
Net income per common share attributable to Bruker Corporation shareholders:
Basic (in dollars per share)																$ 0.59	$ 0.34
Diluted (in dollars per share)																$ 0.59	$ 0.34