how can a thermistor,along with appropriate electrical circuitry,be used to measure temperature?

Answer 1

a thermistor is a resistor whose resistance changes with temperature. Because of the known dependence of resistance on temperature, the resistor can be used as a temperature sensor.

So, add a thermistor into a simple circuit with a power supply and a meter to measure current and you have the essence of a device to measure temperature.

Get a bucket, fill it with ice and leave it till the ice has half melted. The temperatue of the water will be 0 degrees C. Pop in the thermistor (suitably electrically insulated) and measure the current.

Boil a pan of water on the stove. As it's bubbling the water will be exactly 100 Degrees C, and again measure the current.

Using both values you can calibrate your new electronic thermometer!

Answer 2

A thremistor doesn't actually measure temperature. it measures a change in temperature. they are used on fuel tankers to shut down the filling system once the tank approaches full. The resistence of the thermistor changes with a sudden change in temperature signalling the pump to turn off and the valves to close.

Answer 3

What is interesting and hasn't been stated, is that even in the U.S., the automated weather stations used by the FAA and the National Weather Service have actually taken and encoded the observations in Celsius since the middle 90s. The observations are decoded and the products and summaries are transmitted with temperatures in Fahrenheit for the media. For a year or so in the early 80s, products contained both Celsius and Fahrenheit values but when congress said that Fahrenheit would be used (bowing to public opinion at the time) the Celsius values were quietly discontinued. In weather forecasting, only surface values for temperature are in Fahrenheit in the U.S. Any temperature value above surface are in Celsius and have been for decades.