Published August 23, 2026 at 15:16
The longer a measurement is, the less it is about the readout and the more it is about the material you measure with. A one-meter steel ruler changes its length on the order of ten micrometers for every degree change in temperature. That sounds negligible — right until the tolerance is down to hundredths of a millimeter, and the ruler has been sitting in the sun on a windowsill or was just brought in from a cold warehouse
