Difference between revisions of "Thermometer" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
(imported latest version of article from WP)
 
Line 1: Line 1:
−
{{Contradict-other|Timeline of temperature and pressure measurement technology}}
+
{{Claimed}}
−
[[Image:Clinical thermometer 38.7.JPG|thumb|right|A common [[mercury thermometer]]]]
+
[[Image:Clinical thermometer 38.7.JPG|thumb|right|A common [[mercury thermometer]].]]
 +
 
 
A '''thermometer''' is a device that measures [[temperature]] or [[temperature gradient]], using a variety of different principles. The word thermometer is derived from two smaller word fragments: ''thermo'' from the Greek for [[heat]] and ''meter'' from [[Greek language|Greek]], meaning to measure.  A thermometer has two important elements, the temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb on a mercury thermometer) in which some physical change occurs with temperature, plus some means of converting this physical change into a value (e.g. the scale on a mercury thermometer).  Industrial thermometers commonly use electronic means to provide a digital display or input to a computer.
 
A '''thermometer''' is a device that measures [[temperature]] or [[temperature gradient]], using a variety of different principles. The word thermometer is derived from two smaller word fragments: ''thermo'' from the Greek for [[heat]] and ''meter'' from [[Greek language|Greek]], meaning to measure.  A thermometer has two important elements, the temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb on a mercury thermometer) in which some physical change occurs with temperature, plus some means of converting this physical change into a value (e.g. the scale on a mercury thermometer).  Industrial thermometers commonly use electronic means to provide a digital display or input to a computer.
  
Line 15: Line 16:
 
[[Philo]] and [[Hero of Alexandria]] knew of the principle that certain substances, notably air, expand and contract and described a demonstration, in which a closed tube partially filled with air had its end in a container of water.<ref>T. D. McGee (1988) ''Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement'' ISBN 0471627674</ref> The expansion and contraction of the air caused the position of the water/air interface to move along the tube.
 
[[Philo]] and [[Hero of Alexandria]] knew of the principle that certain substances, notably air, expand and contract and described a demonstration, in which a closed tube partially filled with air had its end in a container of water.<ref>T. D. McGee (1988) ''Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement'' ISBN 0471627674</ref> The expansion and contraction of the air caused the position of the water/air interface to move along the tube.
  
−
Early air thermometers, instruments used to measure the hotness and coldness of the air with a tube in which the level of water is controlled by the expansion and contraction of the air, were developed by the [[Islamic science|Muslim scientist]] [[Abū Alī ibn Sīnā]] (known as Avicenna in the West) in the early 11th century,<ref>[[Robert Briffault]] (1938). ''The Making of Humanity'', p. 191</ref><ref>Fatima Agha Al-Hayani (2005). "Islam and Science: Contradiction or Concordance", ''Zygon'' '''40''' (3), p. 565-576.</ref> and by several European scientists in the 16th and 17th centuries, notably [[Galileo Galilei]].
+
Early air thermometers, instruments used to measure the hotness and coldness of the air with a tube in which the level of water is controlled by the expansion and contraction of the air, were developed by the [[Islamic science|Muslim scientist]] [[Abū Alī ibn Sīnā]] (known as Avicenna in the West) in the early 11th century,<ref>[[Robert Briffault]] (1938). ''The Making of Humanity'', p. 191</ref><ref>Fatima Agha Al-Hayani (2005). "Islam and Science: Contradiction or Concordance," ''Zygon'' '''40''' (3), p. 565-576.</ref> and by several European scientists in the 16th and 17th centuries, notably [[Galileo Galilei]].
 
As a result, devices were shown to produce this effect reliably, and the term [[thermoscope]] was adopted because you could see changes in sensible heat (the concept of [[temperature]] was yet to arise).  The difference between a thermoscope and a thermometer is that the latter has a scale<ref>T. D. McGee (1988) ''Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement'' page 3, ISBN 0471627674</ref>. Though Galileo is often said to be the inventor of the thermometer, what he produced was a thermoscope.
 
As a result, devices were shown to produce this effect reliably, and the term [[thermoscope]] was adopted because you could see changes in sensible heat (the concept of [[temperature]] was yet to arise).  The difference between a thermoscope and a thermometer is that the latter has a scale<ref>T. D. McGee (1988) ''Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement'' page 3, ISBN 0471627674</ref>. Though Galileo is often said to be the inventor of the thermometer, what he produced was a thermoscope.
  
 
[[Galileo]] also discovered that objects (glass spheres filled with aqueous alcohol) of slightly different densities would rise and fall, which is nowadays the principle of the [[Galileo thermometer]] (shown).  Today such thermometers are calibrated to a temperature scale.
 
[[Galileo]] also discovered that objects (glass spheres filled with aqueous alcohol) of slightly different densities would rise and fall, which is nowadays the principle of the [[Galileo thermometer]] (shown).  Today such thermometers are calibrated to a temperature scale.
  
−
The first clear diagram of a thermoscope was published in [[1617]] by [[Giuseppe Biancani]]: the first showing a scale and thus constituting a thermometer was by [[Robert Fludd]] in [[1638]].  This was a vertical tube, with a bulb at the top and the end immersed in water.  The level of water in the tube is controlled by the expansion and contraction of the air, so it is what we would now call an air thermometer.<ref>T. D. McGee (1988) ''Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement'', pages 2-4 ISBN 0471627674</ref>
+
The first clear diagram of a thermoscope was published in 1617 by [[Giuseppe Biancani]]: the first showing a scale and thus constituting a thermometer was by [[Robert Fludd]] in 1638.  This was a vertical tube, with a bulb at the top and the end immersed in water.  The level of water in the tube is controlled by the expansion and contraction of the air, so it is what we would now call an air thermometer.<ref>T. D. McGee (1988) ''Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement'', pages 2-4 ISBN 0471627674</ref>
  
−
The first person to put a scale on a thermoscope is variously said to be [[Franceso Sagredo]]<ref>J. E. Drinkwater (1832)''Life of Galileo Galilei'' page 41</ref> or [[Sanctorius|Santorio Santorio]]<ref>[http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/santorio.html The Galileo Project: Santorio Santorio]</ref> in about [[1611]] to [[1613]].
+
The first person to put a scale on a thermoscope is variously said to be [[Franceso Sagredo]]<ref>J. E. Drinkwater (1832)''Life of Galileo Galilei'' page 41</ref> or [[Sanctorius|Santorio Santorio]]<ref>[http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/santorio.html The Galileo Project: Santorio Santorio]</ref> in about 1611 to 1613.
  
−
The word thermometer (in its French form) first appeared in [[1624]] in ''La Récréation Mathématique'' by J. Leurechon, who describes one with a scale of 8 degrees<ref>R. P. Benedict (1984) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed,  ISBN 0-471-89383-8</ref>.
+
The word thermometer (in its French form) first appeared in 1624 in ''La Récréation Mathématique'' by J. Leurechon, who describes one with a scale of 8 degrees<ref>R. P. Benedict (1984) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed,  ISBN 0-471-89383-8</ref>.
  
−
The above instruments suffered from the disadvantage that they were also [[barometer]]s, i.e. sensitive to air pressure. In about [[1654]] [[Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany]], made sealed tubes part filled with alcohol, with a bulb and stem, the first modern-style thermometer, depending on the expansion of a liquid, and independent of air pressure<ref>R. P. Benedict (1984) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed, ISBN 0-471-89383-8</ref>.  Many other scientists experimented with various liquids and designs of thermometer.
+
The above instruments suffered from the disadvantage that they were also [[barometer]]s, i.e. sensitive to air pressure. In about 1654 [[Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany]], made sealed tubes part filled with alcohol, with a bulb and stem, the first modern-style thermometer, depending on the expansion of a liquid, and independent of air pressure<ref>R. P. Benedict (1984) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed, ISBN 0-471-89383-8</ref>.  Many other scientists experimented with various liquids and designs of thermometer.
  
−
However, each inventor and each thermometer was unique - there was no standard scale.  In [[1665]] [[Christian Huygens]] suggested using the melting and boiling points of water as standards, and in [[1694]] [[Carlo Renaldini]] proposed using them as fixed points on a universal scale.  In [[1701]] [[Isaac Newton]] proposed a scale of 12 degrees between the melting point of ice and [[body temperature]].  Finally in [[1724]] [[Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit]] produced a temperature scale which now (slightly adjusted) bears his name.  He could do this because he manufactured thermometers, using [[mercury (element)|mercury]] (which has a high coefficient of expansion) for the first time and the quality of his production could provide a finer scale and greater reproducibility, leading to its general adoption.  In [[1742]] [[Anders Celsius]] proposed a scale with zero at the melting point and 100 degrees at the boiling point of water<ref>R. P. Benedict (1984) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed, ISBN 0-471-89383-8</ref>.
+
However, each inventor and each thermometer was unique - there was no standard scale.  In 1665 [[Christian Huygens]] suggested using the melting and boiling points of water as standards, and in 1694 [[Carlo Renaldini]] proposed using them as fixed points on a universal scale.  In 1701 [[Isaac Newton]] proposed a scale of 12 degrees between the melting point of ice and [[body temperature]].  Finally in 1724 [[Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit]] produced a temperature scale which now (slightly adjusted) bears his name.  He could do this because he manufactured thermometers, using [[mercury (element)|mercury]] (which has a high coefficient of expansion) for the first time and the quality of his production could provide a finer scale and greater reproducibility, leading to its general adoption.  In 1742 [[Anders Celsius]] proposed a scale with zero at the melting point and 100 degrees at the boiling point of water<ref>R. P. Benedict (1984) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed, ISBN 0-471-89383-8</ref>.
  
−
In [[1866]] Sir [[Thomas Clifford Allbutt]] invented a [[Medical thermometer|clinical thermometer]] that produced a body temperature reading in five minutes as opposed to twenty<ref name="Allbutt">[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005775 Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt], ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''</ref>.
+
In 1866 Sir [[Thomas Clifford Allbutt]] invented a [[Medical thermometer|clinical thermometer]] that produced a body temperature reading in five minutes as opposed to twenty<ref name="Allbutt">[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005775 Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt], ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''</ref>.
  
 
== Types of thermometers ==
 
== Types of thermometers ==
 
[[Image:Maximum thermometer close up 2.JPG|thumb|right|[[Mercury-in-glass thermometer]]]]
 
[[Image:Maximum thermometer close up 2.JPG|thumb|right|[[Mercury-in-glass thermometer]]]]
−
Thermometers have been built which utilise a range of physical effects to measure temperature. Most thermometers are originally calibrated to a constant-volume [[gas thermometer]]. Temperature sensors are used in a wide variety of scientific and engineering applications, especially measurement systems.  Temperature systems are primarily either electrical or mechanical, occasionally inseparable from the system which they control (as in the case of a [[mercury thermometer]]).   
+
 
 +
Thermometers have been built to measure temperature by a range of physical effects. Most thermometers are originally calibrated to a constant-volume [[gas thermometer]]. Temperature sensors are used in a wide variety of scientific and engineering applications, especially measurement systems.  Temperature systems are primarily either electrical or mechanical, occasionally inseparable from the system which they control (as in the case of a [[mercury thermometer]]).   
 
*[[Alcohol thermometer]]
 
*[[Alcohol thermometer]]
 
*[[Basal thermometer]]
 
*[[Basal thermometer]]
Line 57: Line 59:
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
−
*[[Timeline of temperature and pressure measurement technology]]
+
 
−
*[[Comparison of temperature scales]]
+
* [[Heat]]
−
*[[Resistance Thermometer]]
+
* [[Temperature]]
−
*[[Thermistors]]
 
−
*[[Thermocouples]]
 
−
*[[Thermogenerator]]
 
−
*[[Silicon bandgap temperature sensor]]
 
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
−
{{reflist}}
+
<references/>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 +
'''<<We need some books here as well. And the Web sites in this section should be properly formatted.>>'''
 +
 
* [http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=212819 History Channel - Invention] - Notable Modern Inventions and Discoveries
 
* [http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=212819 History Channel - Invention] - Notable Modern Inventions and Discoveries
 
* [http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blthermometer.htm About - Thermometer] - Thermometers - Early History, Anders Celsius, Gabriel Fahrenheit and  Thomson Kelvin.
 
* [http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blthermometer.htm About - Thermometer] - Thermometers - Early History, Anders Celsius, Gabriel Fahrenheit and  Thomson Kelvin.
Line 74: Line 74:
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
{{Wiktionary}}
+
 
−
{{commonscat|Measuring instruments (temperature)}}
 
 
* [http://www.zytemp.com/tutorial/History_Of_Thermometry.htm History of Temperature and Thermometry]
 
* [http://www.zytemp.com/tutorial/History_Of_Thermometry.htm History of Temperature and Thermometry]
  
Line 82: Line 81:
 
{{LaboratoryEquipment}}
 
{{LaboratoryEquipment}}
  
−
[[Category:Thermometers| ]]
+
[[Category:Physical sciences]]
−
[[Category:Meteorological instrumentation and equipment]]
+
[[Category:Physics]]
 +
[[Category:Medical technology]]
 +
[[Category:Meteorology]]
  
−
[[bg:Термометър]]
+
{{credit|168324295}}
−
[[ca:Termòmetre]]
 
−
[[cs:Teploměr]]
 
−
[[da:Termometer]]
 
−
[[de:Thermometer]]
 
−
[[et:Termomeeter]]
 
−
[[el:Θερμόμετρο]]
 
−
[[es:Termómetro]]
 
−
[[eo:Temperatursensilo]]
 
−
[[fr:Thermomètre]]
 
−
[[hy:Ջերմաչափ]]
 
−
[[id:Termometer]]
 
−
[[it:Termometro]]
 
−
[[he:מד טמפרטורה]]
 
−
[[la:Thermometrum]]
 
−
[[lt:Termometras]]
 
−
[[hu:Hőmérő]]
 
−
[[nl:Thermometer]]
 
−
[[ja:温度計]]
 
−
[[pl:Termometr]]
 
−
[[pt:Termômetro]]
 
−
[[ru:Термометр]]
 
−
[[sq:Termometri]]
 
−
[[simple:Thermometer]]
 
−
[[sk:Teplomer]]
 
−
[[sl:Toplomer]]
 
−
[[sv:Termometer]]
 
−
[[th:เทอร์มอมิเตอร์]]
 
−
[[vi:Nhiệt kế]]
 
−
[[uk:Термометр]]
 
−
[[zh:溫度計]]
 

Revision as of 21:13, 1 November 2007

A common mercury thermometer.

A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient, using a variety of different principles. The word thermometer is derived from two smaller word fragments: thermo from the Greek for heat and meter from Greek, meaning to measure. A thermometer has two important elements, the temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb on a mercury thermometer) in which some physical change occurs with temperature, plus some means of converting this physical change into a value (e.g. the scale on a mercury thermometer). Industrial thermometers commonly use electronic means to provide a digital display or input to a computer.

Thermometers can be divided into two groups according to the level of knowledge about the physical basis of the underlying thermodynamic laws and quantities. For primary thermometers the measured property of matter is known so well that temperature can be calculated without any unknown quantities. Examples of these are thermometers based on the equation of state of a gas, on the velocity of sound in a gas, on the thermal noise (see Johnson–Nyquist noise) voltage or current of an electrical resistor, and on the angular anisotropy of gamma ray emission of certain radioactive nuclei in a magnetic field.

Secondary thermometers are most widely used because of their convenience. Also, they are often much more sensitive than primary ones. For secondary thermometers knowledge of the measured property is not sufficient to allow direct calculation of temperature. They have to be calibrated against a primary thermometer at least at one temperature or at a number of fixed temperatures. Such fixed points, for example, triple points and superconducting transitions, occur reproducibly at the same temperature.

Internationally agreed temperature scales are based on fixed points and interpolating thermometers. The most recent official temperature scale is the International Temperature Scale of 1990. It extends from 0.65 K to approximately 1358 K (−272.5 °C to 1085 °C).

Early History

Galileo thermometer

Various authors have credited the invention of the thermometer to Abū Alī ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), Cornelius Drebbel, Robert Fludd, Galileo Galilei or Santorio Santorio. But the thermometer was not a single invention, it was a development.

Philo and Hero of Alexandria knew of the principle that certain substances, notably air, expand and contract and described a demonstration, in which a closed tube partially filled with air had its end in a container of water.[1] The expansion and contraction of the air caused the position of the water/air interface to move along the tube.

Early air thermometers, instruments used to measure the hotness and coldness of the air with a tube in which the level of water is controlled by the expansion and contraction of the air, were developed by the Muslim scientist Abū Alī ibn Sīnā (known as Avicenna in the West) in the early 11th century,[2][3] and by several European scientists in the 16th and 17th centuries, notably Galileo Galilei. As a result, devices were shown to produce this effect reliably, and the term thermoscope was adopted because you could see changes in sensible heat (the concept of temperature was yet to arise). The difference between a thermoscope and a thermometer is that the latter has a scale[4]. Though Galileo is often said to be the inventor of the thermometer, what he produced was a thermoscope.

Galileo also discovered that objects (glass spheres filled with aqueous alcohol) of slightly different densities would rise and fall, which is nowadays the principle of the Galileo thermometer (shown). Today such thermometers are calibrated to a temperature scale.

The first clear diagram of a thermoscope was published in 1617 by Giuseppe Biancani: the first showing a scale and thus constituting a thermometer was by Robert Fludd in 1638. This was a vertical tube, with a bulb at the top and the end immersed in water. The level of water in the tube is controlled by the expansion and contraction of the air, so it is what we would now call an air thermometer.[5]

The first person to put a scale on a thermoscope is variously said to be Franceso Sagredo[6] or Santorio Santorio[7] in about 1611 to 1613.

The word thermometer (in its French form) first appeared in 1624 in La Récréation Mathématique by J. Leurechon, who describes one with a scale of 8 degrees[8].

The above instruments suffered from the disadvantage that they were also barometers, i.e. sensitive to air pressure. In about 1654 Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, made sealed tubes part filled with alcohol, with a bulb and stem, the first modern-style thermometer, depending on the expansion of a liquid, and independent of air pressure[9]. Many other scientists experimented with various liquids and designs of thermometer.

However, each inventor and each thermometer was unique - there was no standard scale. In 1665 Christian Huygens suggested using the melting and boiling points of water as standards, and in 1694 Carlo Renaldini proposed using them as fixed points on a universal scale. In 1701 Isaac Newton proposed a scale of 12 degrees between the melting point of ice and body temperature. Finally in 1724 Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit produced a temperature scale which now (slightly adjusted) bears his name. He could do this because he manufactured thermometers, using mercury (which has a high coefficient of expansion) for the first time and the quality of his production could provide a finer scale and greater reproducibility, leading to its general adoption. In 1742 Anders Celsius proposed a scale with zero at the melting point and 100 degrees at the boiling point of water[10].

In 1866 Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt invented a clinical thermometer that produced a body temperature reading in five minutes as opposed to twenty[11].

Types of thermometers

Mercury-in-glass thermometer

Thermometers have been built to measure temperature by a range of physical effects. Most thermometers are originally calibrated to a constant-volume gas thermometer. Temperature sensors are used in a wide variety of scientific and engineering applications, especially measurement systems. Temperature systems are primarily either electrical or mechanical, occasionally inseparable from the system which they control (as in the case of a mercury thermometer).

  • Alcohol thermometer
  • Basal thermometer
  • Mercury-in-glass thermometer
  • Bi-metal mechanical thermometer
  • Electrical resistance thermometer
  • Galileo thermometer
  • Infrared thermometer
  • Liquid Crystal Thermometer
  • Reversing thermometer
  • Silicon bandgap temperature sensor
  • Six's thermometer- also known as a Maximum minimum thermometer
  • Thermistor
  • Thermocouple
  • Coulomb blockade thermometer
  • Oral thermometer

Specialist uses of thermometers

  • Candy thermometer
  • Meat thermometer
  • Medical thermometer

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ T. D. McGee (1988) Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement ISBN 0471627674
  2. ↑ Robert Briffault (1938). The Making of Humanity, p. 191
  3. ↑ Fatima Agha Al-Hayani (2005). "Islam and Science: Contradiction or Concordance," Zygon 40 (3), p. 565-576.
  4. ↑ T. D. McGee (1988) Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement page 3, ISBN 0471627674
  5. ↑ T. D. McGee (1988) Principles and Methods of Temperature Measurement, pages 2-4 ISBN 0471627674
  6. ↑ J. E. Drinkwater (1832)Life of Galileo Galilei page 41
  7. ↑ The Galileo Project: Santorio Santorio
  8. ↑ R. P. Benedict (1984) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed, ISBN 0-471-89383-8
  9. ↑ R. P. Benedict (1984) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed, ISBN 0-471-89383-8
  10. ↑ R. P. Benedict (1984) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed, ISBN 0-471-89383-8
  11. ↑ Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt, Encyclopædia Britannica

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

<<We need some books here as well. And the Web sites in this section should be properly formatted.>>

External links

Template:Met inst


Laboratory Equipment

Agar plate • Aspirator • Autoclave • Bunsen burner • Calorimeter • Colony counter • Colorimeter • Centrifuge • Fume hood • Incubator • Homogenizer • Laminar flow cabinet • Magnetic stirrer • Microscope • Microtiter plate • Plate reader • Spectrophotometer • Stir bar • Thermometer • Vortex mixer • Static mixer

Laboratory glassware
Beaker • Boiling tube • Büchner funnel • Burette • Condenser • Conical measure • Crucible • Cuvette • Laboratory flasks (Erlenmeyer flask, Round-bottom flask, Florence flask, Volumetric flask, Büchner flask, Retort) • Gas syringe • Graduated cylinder • Pipette • Petri dish • Separating funnel • Soxhlet extractor • Test tube • Thistle tube • Watch glass

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Thermometer&oldid=536881

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Copyright Logo
Powered by MediaWiki