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The red
liquid inside of a thermometer is alcohol. When the temperature changes, the alcohol expands, providing a reading based on the thermometer’s scale. Red dye is used to color the clear alcohol so that someone is able to easily read the thermometer. Alcohol thermometers are considered much safer than the once popular mercury thermometers, but they are considered slightly less durable because the alcohol evaporates from the thermometer over time. The mercury in mercury
thermometers is poisonous if the thermometer breaks. Old thermometers must be properly disposed of to prevent environmental contamination. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that the use of mercury thermometers be avoided and that existing mercury thermometers be properly retired. MORE FROM REFERENCE.COM
The red liquid is alcohol (ethanol) with a colorant. You'll also find alcohol with a blue colorant.
I thought that mercury was more or less outlawed for thermometers now. I know that they are no longer used in a lab environment because of the toxicity of mercury vapour (in case of a thermometer breaking - which happens only too often).
Alcohol works better for sub zero temperatures (centigrade); for temperatures above 90�C we used
pressurised thermometers (or rather with higher resistance to pressure) or thermometers filled with an other liquid.
The alcohol thermometer or spirit thermometer is an alternative to the mercury-in-glass thermometer and has similar functions. Unlike the mercury-in-glass thermometer, the contents of an alcohol thermometer are less toxic and will evaporate quickly. The ethanol version is the most widely used due to the low cost and relatively low hazard posed by the liquid in case of breakage.
An organic liquid is contained in a glass bulb which is connected to a capillary of the same glass and the end is sealed with an expansion bulb. The space above the liquid is a mixture of nitrogen and the vapor of the liquid. For the working temperature range, the meniscus or interface between the liquid is within the capillary. With increasing temperature, the volume of liquid expands and the meniscus moves up the capillary. The position of the meniscus shows the temperature against an inscribed scale.
The liquid used can be pure ethanol, toluene, kerosene or isoamyl acetate, depending on manufacturer and working temperature range.[1] Since these are transparent, the liquid is made more visible by the addition of a red or blue dye. One half of the glass containing the capillary is usually enamelled white or yellow to give a background for reading the scale.
The range of usefulness of the thermometer is set by the boiling point of the liquid used. In the case of the ethanol-filled thermometer, the upper limit for measurement is 78 °C (172.4 °F), which makes it useful for measuring daytime, nighttime and body temperatures, although not for anything much hotter than these.
Ethanol-filled thermometers are used in preference to mercury for meteorological measurements of minimum temperatures and can be used down to −70 °C (−94 °F).[2] The physical limitation of the ability of a thermometer to measure low temperature is the freezing point of the liquid used. Ethanol freezes at -114.9 °C (-174.82 °F). If an alcohol thermometer utilizes a combination of ethyl alcohol, toluene, and pentane, its lower temperature range may be extended to measure temperatures down to as low as −200 °C (−328 °F).[3] However, the measurement temperature range c. −200 °C to 78 °C, is highly dependent upon the type of alcohol used.
History[edit]
The alcohol thermometer was the earliest efficient, modern-style instrument of temperature measurement. As is the case with many early, important inventions, several people are credited with the invention. These include Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who in 1654 made sealed tubes partly filled with alcohol or urine, with a bulb and stem, depending on the expansion of a liquid, and independent of air pressure.[4] Other sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica, credit German scientist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit with inventing the alcohol thermometer in 1709.[5] Fahrenheit was a skilled glassblower and his alcohol thermometer was the world's first reliable thermometer.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "Thermometer Filling Liquids" (PDF). Charnwood Instrumentation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2014.
- ^ British Standard 692:1990 Specification for Meteorological Thermometers
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ R. P. Benedict (1987) Fundamentals of Temperature, Pressure, and Flow Measurements, 3rd ed, ISBN 0-471-89383-8 page 4
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica "Science & Technology: Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit" [1]
- ^ Encyclopedia of World Biography "Gabriel Fahrenheit"