seismograph
"A seismograph is like a clock recording distrubance which needs to be calibrated to other clocks. My wristwatch on its own is practically useless if I do not constantly check time with others in the world and duly make time corrections (Day time savings, etc)."
"A seismograph is like a ink printer. It has a graph paper roll and a drum rotates the paper automatically when it prints. The seismograph machine is always kept switched on. When ever the tremors or Earthquakes are detected, the machine starts functioning automatically."
"So in a way the seismograph is like the yardstick and the Richter scale is like the units the yardstick is calibrated in such as inches. "
"seismograph is like a pendulum, the bob of which tends to remain stationary in space while everything to which it is attached is moving"
METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.