Usually manufactured as a glass bulb attached to a fine tube that contains sealed in liquid that rises and falls with changes in temperature, a thermometer is a device containing a numbered scale used in measuring the temperature. Regarded as one of the most important inventions of the new generation, thermometers are now available in a wide array of types that are used for a variety of applications-the most popular among which are those used for medical purposes or the so called clinical thermometers.
Generally, a thermometer is a device that measures the temperature of a system in a quantitative way. Today, these devices are deemed vital in clinical examinations. The invention of the thermometer was credited to Galileo Galilei in 1593. Galileo invented a rudimentary water thermoscope-a thermometer without a scale-that allowed temperature variations to be measured. A numerical scale was added to the thermoscope in 1612 by the Italian inventor Santorio Santorio. The device was designed to be placed in a patient's mouth for temperature taking.
Throughout the years that followed, more experiments were conducted to improve the effectiveness of the thermometer. Modifications were particularly centered on the numerical scale used in quantifying the temperature. It was in the 18th Century when the two numerical scales used today as standard temperature scales were invented. In 1714, Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the Fahrenheit scale along with the mercury temperature while the Centigrade scale was discovered in 1742 by the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius. The Celsius scale has 100 degrees between the freezing and boiling point while the Fahrenheit scale has the boiling point of water at 212 degrees while the freezing point is at 32 degrees above zero.
Generally, thermometers can be classified depending on their measurement units, applications, and mechanisms. As was already discussed, the two types of thermometers based on their measurement units are Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometers. Thermometer types based on their applications, on the other hand, includes clinical thermometers which are used to measure the body temperature, food thermometers such as the dial oven-safe thermometer, and outdoor thermometers used to measure the temperature of the surrounding air. Lastly, the types of thermometers based on their mechanism include mercury and alcohol thermometers which employ mercury or alcohol filled glass tubes to measure temperature and digital thermometers that use thermocouples or thermistors to sense the change in temperature.
Among the number of thermometers discussed, clinical thermometers are among the widely used. These thermometers also come in a variety of types and are depending on their design, they may measure temperature in the mouth, anus, armpit, or ear. As they are especially designed to be used in humans and animals, the sterilization and calibration of said devices should always be assured so as to prevent the spread of diseases, as well as incorrect readings.
Thermometers such as clinical thermometers can be considered one of the most important inventions of the millennium as these devices significantly improved the medical industry in the past years since their invention. They are must have instruments not only in hospitals and industries but in households as well.
Generally, a thermometer is a device that measures the temperature of a system in a quantitative way. Today, these devices are deemed vital in clinical examinations. The invention of the thermometer was credited to Galileo Galilei in 1593. Galileo invented a rudimentary water thermoscope-a thermometer without a scale-that allowed temperature variations to be measured. A numerical scale was added to the thermoscope in 1612 by the Italian inventor Santorio Santorio. The device was designed to be placed in a patient's mouth for temperature taking.
Throughout the years that followed, more experiments were conducted to improve the effectiveness of the thermometer. Modifications were particularly centered on the numerical scale used in quantifying the temperature. It was in the 18th Century when the two numerical scales used today as standard temperature scales were invented. In 1714, Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the Fahrenheit scale along with the mercury temperature while the Centigrade scale was discovered in 1742 by the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius. The Celsius scale has 100 degrees between the freezing and boiling point while the Fahrenheit scale has the boiling point of water at 212 degrees while the freezing point is at 32 degrees above zero.
Generally, thermometers can be classified depending on their measurement units, applications, and mechanisms. As was already discussed, the two types of thermometers based on their measurement units are Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometers. Thermometer types based on their applications, on the other hand, includes clinical thermometers which are used to measure the body temperature, food thermometers such as the dial oven-safe thermometer, and outdoor thermometers used to measure the temperature of the surrounding air. Lastly, the types of thermometers based on their mechanism include mercury and alcohol thermometers which employ mercury or alcohol filled glass tubes to measure temperature and digital thermometers that use thermocouples or thermistors to sense the change in temperature.
Among the number of thermometers discussed, clinical thermometers are among the widely used. These thermometers also come in a variety of types and are depending on their design, they may measure temperature in the mouth, anus, armpit, or ear. As they are especially designed to be used in humans and animals, the sterilization and calibration of said devices should always be assured so as to prevent the spread of diseases, as well as incorrect readings.
Thermometers such as clinical thermometers can be considered one of the most important inventions of the millennium as these devices significantly improved the medical industry in the past years since their invention. They are must have instruments not only in hospitals and industries but in households as well.
About the Author:
Michelle Williams is a midwife from Germany. Ms. Williams always brings with her a fieberthermometer (popularly known as 'clinical thermometer in the English language) which she uses to measure the temperature of her patients.
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