How does a thermometer work simple explanation?

When the tip of the mercury thermometer touches the material it is measuring, the material conducts heat energy to the mercury. Then the mercury expands as it turns into a liquid and begins to rise up the tube. The place where the mercury stops on the scale is where you can take the reading of the temperature.

How does a thermometer work particle theory?

Matter expands and contracts with changes in temperature because a change in thermal energy causes the molecules to speed up (or slow down). When in contact with warmer objects, energy from the surroundings is transferred to the glass of the thermometer.

How does a traditional thermometer work?

A thermometer has a glass tube sealed at both ends and is partly filled with a liquid like mercury or alcohol. As the temperature around the thermometer’s bulb heats up, the liquid rises in the glass tube. The glass tube is mounted on a backboard that is marked in units called degrees.

How does mercury thermometer work?

In a mercury thermometer, a glass tube is filled with mercury and a standard temperature scale is marked on the tube. With changes in temperature, the mercury expands and contracts, and the temperature can be read from the scale. Mercury thermometers can be used to determine body, liquid, and vapor temperature.

How does a thermometer measure?

A thermometer measures temperature through a glass tube sealed with mercury that expands or contracts as 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.

How does a thermometer work energy?

Each collision between an air molecule and the wall of the thermometer results in a transfer of thermal energy from the air to molecules in the thermometer. This causes the molecules in the liquid to gain kinetic energy and move farther apart, expanding the liquid.

Why does liquid in the thermometer rise when?

1. The liquid in the thermometer goes up when the thermometer is heated because heating makes the alcohol molecules of the liquid move faster. The extra speed of the molecules competes with their attraction for one another and causes them to move slightly further apart.

Why only mercury is used in thermometer?

Mercury is the only one in liquid state at room temperature. It’s used in thermometers because it has high coefficient of expansion. Hence, the slightest change in temperature is notable when it’s used in a thermometer. It also has a high boiling point which makes it very suitable to measure higher temperatures.

How do you check temperature with a thermometer?

Mouth: Place the probe under the tongue and close the mouth. Breathe through the nose. Use the lips to hold the thermometer tightly in place. Leave the thermometer in the mouth for 3 minutes or until the device beeps.

How does the liquid in a thermometer work?

Liquid-in-glass thermometers are based on the principle of thermal expansion of substances. A liquid in a glass tube (called a capillary) expands when heated and contracts when cooled. A calibrated scale can then be used to read off the respective temperature that led to the corresponding thermal expansion.

What are 3 facts about the thermometer?

Fun Facts About Thermometers A thermometer consists of several components like the tube, bulb, and stem. The tube doesn’t exist in a digital thermometer. The very first thermometers invented contained water in them rather than mercury. However, water freezes at 32 F (0 C) so inventors switched to mercury and alcohol.

How does a thermometer work convection?

When a thermometer is placed in hot water bath, heat energy transfers from the hot water bath to the thermometer. The temperature reading on the thermometer rises. It continues to rise until the kinetic energy of the particles in the thermometer match the kinetic energy of the particles in the hot water.

What is the red liquid in a thermometer called?

alcohol
How can I tell if my thermometer has mercury? Mercury is a silver-white to gray substance. If your thermometer is filled with a red liquid, your thermometer contains red dyed alcohol or mineral spirits and not mercury. These are safer alternatives to mercury fever thermometers.

Why does the mercury in a thermometer go up and down?

The mercury pools in the bulb, but when it heats up, it expands. Because it can’t expand through the bottom of the bulb, it is forced up the tube. That expansion, caused by the atoms flying around faster and taking up more space, is what makes the thermometer work.

How was temperature discovered?

The development of today’s thermometers and temperature scales began in the early 18th century, when Gabriel Fahrenheit produced a mercury thermometer and scale, both developed by Ole Christensen Rømer. Fahrenheit’s scale is still in use, alongside the Celsius and Kelvin scales.

What is thermometer short answer?

A thermometer is a tool that measures temperature — how hot or cold something is. Thermometers are used to see if you have a fever or tell you how cold it is outside. Made up of thermo (heat) and meter (measuring device), the meaning of the word thermometer is pretty straightforward.

Why is alcohol used in thermometer?

Ethanol has low freezing point. Hence, it is used in thermometers.