How does a thermometer measure temperature?

Answer 1

They also make the liquid thermometers with alcohol. It is safer and cheaper than mercury.

Many common thermometers that are used outside the widow of home, etc. use the thermal expansion of metal. There is a circular spring that is attached to a needle at one end. As the metal increases or decreases in length due to changing temperature, the needle moves.

Digital thermometers measure the resistance, which depends upon temperature, to the electricity running through a circuit.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

A mercury thermometer (etc.) consists of a glass bulb filled with mercury attached to a glass tube with a very narrow (hollow) channel its entire length. When the thermometer is heated, the mercury expands more than the glass containing it and forces some mercury up the hollow channel. The channel can be marked at two or more known temperatures (freezing and boiling points of water, etc.) and the rest of the channel is divided into degrees. Of course, new thermometers can be graduated against accurate standard thermometers when the range is less than freezing to boiling.

Answer 3

A thermometer is filled with mercury, a liquid metal. The mercury is contained within a tube of known size. As mercury heats, it expands and fills the tube more. It's level corresponds to temperature and the hash marks on the tube will tell you what that temperature is. Conversely, when the mercury cools, it fills the tube less and will read a lower temperature.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

There are other types of thermometers, the most common are the liquid thermometers already mentioned. But there are electronic ones, where the temperature effects the conductivity (thermistors) and the temperature can be deduced from this.

Answer 5

By the use of mercury..The warmer it is - the higher it expends...
That is the regular old termometer...There are plenty of other ways to do it...