It is a numeral on the alarm clock that tells me when I should get up. For example today, a perfectly ordinary Thursday. The week is already well advanced and I am correspondingly tired. But none of that is of any help, and because each morning this tiny little numeral resides within me, I love getting up in those days.
Well then, legs over the edge of the bed and I drag myself into the bathroom. Once again, I am met by a numeral. While I can easily adjust the moment I’m awoken by my alarm clock, the numeral on my accursed scales will not seem an easy task to influence. Or, at best, in the long-term. Sarcastic decide in the evening to go jogging, but first splash my face with water. Even then, I see a numeral with my inner eye ? the water meter can be running.
Refreshed and dry once again, I immediately encounter the next numeral. The thermometer tells me that I will wear a jacket today the moment I leave the house. And although it is only a short distance to the automobile, I am glad within my own private measuring station for that little bit of advice. Once I reach the automobile, I am met by the next numeral. My arrival at the job will be delayed by a short while because I need to fill the fuel tank on the way. When I reach the filling station, I’m able to check another numeral, one that indicates my tyre pressures. Something that I really do not check often enough. Also, while my fuel tank is slowly getting filled, I ask myself if anyone has taken the trouble to check the fuel pump using a standardized 5-litre canister. Why not? You see, it is quite normal for the official from the calibration authority to check on the accuracy of everything frequently. In many the areas too, we can rely upon the truth that everything gets measured accurately.
My extended solution to work takes me past a big building site. What beautiful machines! Especially with the cranes ? once more with that inner eye of mine ? I could see so many numerals: The weight raised on the boom will be monitored, and angles are receiving measured. When approaching the limits of the tipping lines, even the thrust and support forces become of interest. If I had the time, I’d stand at the boundary such as a small boy and simply stare at all of it.
Then, finally, I reach the business and a perfectly normal Thursday follows its usual course. As always, numerals are in work here, ones that ultimately co-determine our lives. No matter what we do, and where we might go, measurements are omnipresent. As soon as you start thinking about it, the list just keeps getting longer: I start to see the world in numerals because we at WIKA divide up the everyday things into numerals. We can build scales with load cells, and we are able to establish the temperature with measuring sensors. We are able to measure pressure in three various ways. We are able to measure flow rates and levels. We can measure tension and compression forces and we are able to calculate angles. We are able to make entire systems safe by monitoring measured values. Anyone who knows metrology sees the world through different eyes. Does that apply to you, too?
Note
Further information on our measuring instruments are available on the WIKA website.