History of Thermometers

Thermometers

There are many types of thermometers in the world today. Each thermometer has its own role in measuring temperature. Although many are mistaken by thinking thermometers measure heat, it has been clarified by Brian Rohrig that what is being measured in reality is temperature. Temperature and heat are two different concepts in terms of chemistry. Thermometers have come to play an important role in our lives today starting by helping to check for fevers or checking the weather outside to choose an outfit. But which is the thermometer that scientist use today for deep studying?

To begin with, when measuring temperature, you are measuring the average kinetic energy of the molecules within a substance. So when you record the temperature of something, you are telling how mast the molecules are moving. This way you can tell the temperature of something whether it's hot or cold. One of the first successful temperature scales that was used was the Romer scale in 1701. It was invented by Ole Christensen Romer and it was used to measure the speed of light in 1676. Later, Daniel G. Fahrenheit published an alternate scale, setting 32 degrees as the freezing temperature and 96 degrees the highest. In the same way, Andres Celsius came up with another scale, setting the freezing point to 0 degrees and the boiling point to 100 degrees.

The most scientific scale used today is the Kelvin scale. The Kelvin scale was devised by British scientist William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), in 1848. Since temperature is the measure of molecular motion, the zero point on this scale was where molecular motion stops. So 0 Kelvin is the point which all molecules stop moving; 0 k is known as absolute zero, which has never been reached. The Kelvin scale is primarily used in science, and when it comes to solving equations, temperature must be expressed in Kelvin, according to the gas laws.

In conclusion, all thermometers