It is a numeral on the alarm clock that tells me when I should get up. For instance 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 every morning this tiny little numeral resides within me, I enjoy getting up at that time.
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 could easily adjust as soon as I am awoken by my alarm clock, the numeral on my accursed scales does not seem easy to influence. Or, at best, in the long-term. I decide at night to go jogging, but first splash my face with water. Even then, I see a numeral with my inner eye ? the water meter is also running.
Refreshed and dry once more, I immediately encounter the next numeral. The thermometer tells me that I should wear a jacket today when I go out. And although it really is just a short distance to the automobile, I am glad within my own private measuring station for that piece of advice. Once I reach the car, I’m met by another numeral. My arrival at the job will be delayed by a short while because I have to fill the fuel tank en route. When I reach the filling station, I am in a position 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 had the trouble to check on the fuel pump utilizing a standardized 5-litre canister. You will want to? You see, it is quite normal for an 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 way to work takes me past a big building site. What beautiful machines! Especially with Irresistible ? once more with that inner eye of mine ? I can 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 would 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 at 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 are able to build scales with load cells, and we are able to establish the temperature with measuring sensors. We can measure pressure in three various ways. We are able to measure flow rates and levels. We are able to measure tension and compression forces and we can calculate angles. We can make entire systems safe by monitoring measured values. Anyone who knows metrology sees the planet through different eyes. Does that connect with you, too?
Note
More info on our measuring instruments are available on the WIKA website.