There is every chance that you have had an experience of using a small, slender, glass-made instrument for gauging your body temperature. Yes, the thermometer! Devoid of all sorts of electronic transistors and wrapped in a small pack, it is a magnificent utility in itself. It is one such scientific instrument that millions of people around the world use on everyday basis. But have you ever thought for a while what actually the working principle of this instrument is? Have you ever sat down with a thermometer in hand and pondered who might have invented this magical tube? This article is meant to educate you about the origin, development and scientific basis of water thermometer.
The development of the thermometers was not an overnight process. In fact, its roots date back to 1660’s when a couple of scientists first conducted research work on relationship of temperature with different forms of matters. This study was followed various research studies on the flow of energy from one body to another body. It is also necessary that when you buy a thermometer for you baby, choose the one which gives accurate reading. Most parents prefer forehead thermometer for babies, as these thermometers are easy to handle without even your baby realizing. You can check some best forehead thermometers in UK here.
Once it was clearly understood that temperature is actually about the hotness or coldness of the bodies and that energy flows from hotter bodies to colder bodies, many scientists started working on how can temperature be gauged. At that time, Galileo came out with the first instrument that had an ability to gauge temperature but it wasn’t the thermometer we see today. Galileo laid foundation by presenting his theory and later on, various scientists continued with his theory and came up with an instrument w call the thermometer. Various liquids, such as mercury, alcohol and water are used in the glass vessel of thermometer. Each of these liquids has its own specific features.
Types of Thermometers
There are many different types of thermometer available in today’s market. Traditional thermometers are designed for at home use for measuring the temperature of the air or water in both F or C. Contact – liquid-in-glass thermometer. Liquid-in-glass thermometers, in particular mercury thermometers, have been around for almost 300 years. these are standard electronic thermometers, and use electronic heat sensors to detect body temperature. It is vital that you understand the range of products available to you and their suitability for use.
Traditional Thermometer: These should not require much maintenance, but they may have a varied accuracy, range and resolution. Thermometer relies on the expansion of a liquid with temperature. These thermometers can be used in the mouth, armpit or rectum. Complying with health & safety in a catering establishment will need very different equipment to a medical kit. Digital Temple Thermometers are fast, fairly accurate, and good to use when your baby is too young to sit still.
Resistance Thermometer: Liquid is contained in a sealed glass bulb and it expands into the fine bore in the thermometer stem. Sometimes, it can come in the form of a pacifier for infants who cannot keep still when having their temperature measured. Just as an office or workplace thermometer is not suitable for critical industrial measurements. Make sure that the sensor is near the temporal artery (between the outside edge of the eye and the hairline). Look at the directions carefully to make sure you get an accurate reading. Temperature is read using a scale etched along the stem.
When in doubt, invest in a digital heat sensor thermometer, as it is appropriate for all ages and is very accurate. Thermometers which use liquids inside the glass are not suitable to be used for measuring a wide range of temperature. e.g temperature ranging from -250 degree Celsius to about 700 degree Celsius. Electrical resistance of a metal wire increases as temperature increases, so that a smaller current indicates a higher temperature. This is also used to measure temperature, but they may not be as reliable as the digital thermometers. It can measure temperatures of over a thousand degrees Celsius and can be used in industry to measure the temperatures of ovens and furnaces. Forehead thermometers are placed on the temporal artery of the forehead and will read the infrared heat that comes off of the head.
Basal Thermometers: This type of thermometer are use by women who want to get pregnant. Basal thermometers are very sensitive device that can measure even slight change in temperature. They are quiet accurate and reliable to measure the BBT. If you are looking for quality basal thermometers than I suggest you go for Eudemon. This thermometer has many features and also have a back-light and alarm system.
Thermocouples are used in many industrial, scientific, and OEM applications. A thermocouple is a temperature sensor that uses a junction formed by dissimilar metals. A thermocouple functions based on differential calculations from a known temperature point, called a cold or reference junction, and a probe, connected to the unit to be measured. The Type T is used widely in the food industry, mainly due to the high level of accuracy it provides and because it performs well in the presence of moisture without oxidising. They can be found in nearly all industrial markets: Power Generation, Oil/Gas, Pharmaceutical, BioTech, Cement, Paper & Pulp, etc.
It is simply a pair of wires of different composition, joined at one end. Lab conditions allow a natural cold junction, but applied thermocouple conditions often necessitate the use of an artificially generated temperature constant. If in general a lower range temperature measurement is required, the Type T is popular choice. Thermocouples are also used in everyday appliances like stoves, furnaces, and toasters. The thermocouple produces a small voltage, also called the thermocouple potential, roughly proportional to temperature.
Because voltages generated by connecting dissimilar metals are known and constant, they are used as reference points based on their relation to the measuring junction. The Type J is a popular thermocouple that is commonly used to monitor temperatures of inert materials and in vacuum applications. Thermocouples are typically selected because of their low cost, high temperature limits, wide temperature ranges, and durable nature. The thermocouple potential is produced in part by a junction effect, but mostly by the influence of a temperature gradient on each wire, called the Peltier and Seebeck effects. This thermocouple is susceptible to oxidisation so is not recommended for damp conditions or low temperature monitoring.
The water thermometers find a range of applications in laboratory experiments, in industry and in medical sciences since it is lot more safe to use these thermometers as compared to alcohol or mercury thermometers. Today, a number of modernized forms of these thermometers are available in the market. The latest of these forms is the digital thermometer. Though these thermometers seem to be having no connection with the primitive thermometers but the fact of the matter is that these latest technological innovations have been made possible due to the primitive theories established by experts like Galileo and others.
Therefore, it can be very safely concluded that a thermometer which apparently seems a very ordinary tube, is in fact a very useful instrument in our daily life. Unlike most of the instruments you see in your physics or chemistry lab, a thermometer moves with you in your everyday life. In hospitals, in your homes and even at commercial areas, a thermometer accompanies people and helps them know if there is some fluctuation in their body temperature. Galileo, while discovering the principle of thermometer might not have even thought of the applications his principle would find one day. But the fact of the matter is that his studies laid foundations of the development of an instrument that will keep serving humanity for centuries to come.