A thermometer measures temperature through a glass tube sealed with mercury that expands or contracts because the temperature rises or falls. The tiny size of the bulb and micro-fine size of the tube help the mercury reach the temperature of what it is measuring very rapidly. For more information read the article on how do thermometers measure temperature.

You wear thermal underwear to stop body heat from escaping. Despite its name, however, a thermometer doesn’t actually record heat, but rather a temperature.

Temperature and Heat are Two Radically Different Concepts

A thermometer measures temperature through a glass tube sealed with mercury that expands or contracts because the temperature rises or falls.

The tiny size of the bulb and micro-fine size of the tube help the mercury reach the temperature of what it is measuring very rapidly.

Bulb thermometers follow the simple principle that liquids change their volumes relative to their temperature. As temperatures rise, the mercury-filled bulb expands into the capillary. Its rate of expansion is calibrated on the glass scale.

What are the 3 Ways to Measure Temperature?

Key Concepts

• There are three different systems for measuring heat energy (temperature): Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin.

• In scientific measures, it is most common to use either the Kelvin or Celsius scale as a unit of temperature measurement.

• Nothing can be colder than absolute zero, which is the point at which all molecular motion ceases.

Does a Thermometer Measure Heat or Temperature?

You wear thermal underwear to stop body heat from escaping. Despite its name, however, a thermometer doesn’t actually record heat, but rather a temperature. Temperature and heat are two radically different concepts.

Two different scales can be found on thermometers the Fahrenheit scale and the Celsius scale.

With the Fahrenheit scale, Daniel Fahrenheit decided that the freezing and boiling points of water would be separated by 180 degrees and he pegged freezing water at 32 degrees.

So, he made a thermometer, stuck it in freezing water, and marked the extent of the mercury on the glass as 32 degrees.

Then he stuck an equivalent thermometer in boiling water and marked it 212 degrees. He then put 180 evenly spaced marks between those two points.

In the Celsius scale, Anders Celsius decided that the freezing and boiling points of water would be separated by 100 degrees and he made the freezing point of water at 100 degrees.

Types of Thermometer: How do Thermometers Measure Temperature

Bulb thermometers are most commonly found in two places–outside on our porches measuring the temperatures outside or under our tongues measuring our bodily temperatures.

With age, the technology came the invention of other types of thermometers. Each different type of thermometer has its own distinctive means of measuring or controlling temperature.

For instance, bimetallic strip thermometers are extremely effective for controlling temperatures. Although bulb thermometers are good for measuring temperature accurately, they are harder to maintain set temperatures.

While bulb thermometers measure our changing temperatures when we feel feverish, bimetallic strip thermometers help us bake our favorite cakes by maintaining a set temperature in ovens.

The bimetallic strip thermometer, because it is made of metal, is good at maintaining the same temperature for a long period of time.

Recent technology has created new ways to measure temperatures with electronics. The most common device is known as a thermostat. This sensor changes its resistance with changes in temperature.

A computer or other electronic circuit measures the resistance and converts it to a temperature, either to display it or to form decisions about turning something on or off.

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Can Thermometers Measure Below 0 Degrees?

How are the temperatures below zero degrees celsius measured? Mercury thermometer is employed to live temperatures above zero degrees Celsius. Mercury expands upon heating and maybe a good thermal conductor. It is also a bright liquid and thus convenient for temperature measurement.

A Final Note

Attempts at standardized temperature measurement before the 17th century were crude at the best. For instance, in 170 AD, physician Claudius Galenus mixed equal portions of ice and boiling water to make a “neutral” temperature standard.

The modern scientific field has its origins within the works by Florentine scientists within the 1600s including Galileo constructing devices ready to measure the relative change in temperature, but subject also to confounding with atmospheric pressure changes.

These early devices were called thermoscopes. The first sealed thermometer was constructed in 1654 by the prince of Toscani, Ferdinand II.

The development of today’s thermometers and temperature scales began within the early 18th century when Gabriel Fahrenheit produced a mercury-in-glass thermometer and scale, both developed by Ole Christensen Romer.

Fahrenheit’s scale remains in use, alongside the Celsius and Kelvin scales. Read more how do thermometers measure temperature or other articles on how to clean a thermometer.