What is Mercury Thermometer?
A mercury thermometer consists of a glass tube filled with mercury and labeled with an industry-standard temperature scale. Since mercury expands and shrinks in response to variations in temperature, a temperature reading may be taken directly from the scale. Mercury thermometers are versatile enough to measure internal body temperature in addition to liquid and vapor temperatures. Thermometers containing mercury are commonplace in homes, labs, and factories.
Glass fever thermometers about the size of a straw contain a silvery-white liquid known as mercury. They may be found in many institutional settings, including homes, schools, and hospitals.
There are a wide variety of places where mercury thermometers can be put to service, from laboratories to blood banks to incubators to water and acid baths.
Types of Mercury Thermometer
1. Maximum thermometer
Maximum-minimum thermometers often called Six's thermometers, are special kinds of thermometers that record the highest and lowest temperatures for a given period, usually 24 hours. It is not a thermometer that uses the expansion of mercury, and there are mercury-free variants available, but the original design does use mercury to show where a column of alcohol is located, and the location of that column shows the temperature.
2. Glass Bulb containing Mercury
The mercury in the bulb expands and increases as the temperature rises, making the glass bulb a reservoir. The stainless steel used in this section of the thermometer helps to keep the mercury within at a temperature much below room temperature. This is the portion of the thermometer that comes into touch with the user, whether it is the arm, the tongue, or another area of the body.
As the temperature increases above the ambient level, the mercury begins to rise due to expansion. The mercury thread pushes through the narrowing, crosses it, and then becomes caught once the opening widens. After it shrinks, you can still get a reliable reading because the narrowing serves to trap the mercury.
3. Expansion Chamber & Scale.
The gas or air in the expansion chamber rises when mercury in the tube rises due to an increase in temperature. When the temperature rises over the indicated figure, the mercury in the thermometer will expand to fill the extra room. Although this situation never occurs during regular operations. The Expansion Chamber is the last section of the capillary tube. For the sake of allowing the gases greater room to expand, it is hemispherical in form.
4. Mercury (liquid in glass) thermometer
Once upon a time, taking a person's temperature necessitated the use of a mercury thermometer.
Because of health and safety concerns, they are no longer commercially available and may be illegal in your area.
Mercury thermometers are reliable and may be used orally, rectally, or subcutaneously to provide an exact body temperature measurement.
5. Capillary Tube
A capillary tube is a thin glass tube with a narrow inside diameter. This allows the mercury to grow through the opening. To make sure that the correct reading is taken, the capillary tube is a different color than the expansion chamber. Its uniform diameter ensures that the mercury inside it expands proportionally with the temperature rise, allowing for precise temperature readings.
Mercury Thermometer Uses
1. Household Uses of Mercury Thermometers
The mercury glass mercury thermometer price is high for home items and has certainly been seen by you at some point or another in either the kitchen or the bathroom. The temperature of a healthy child can help you diagnose an illness in your child. or when the meat thermometers say to start cooking.
Because it can be stored in liquid form at a wide range of temperatures, mercury is a reliable chemical source for thermometers. The mercury thermometers themselves are about the size of a narrow straw and contain a transparent, white liquid.
2. Freezing
Once mercury reaches -37.89 degrees Fahrenheit, it solidifies, and any nitrogen present in the air will sink to get trapped underneath the liquid metal when it thaws. Take it in for servicing so it may be fixed and used again. Consequently, when the temperature outside drops below -30 degrees, mercury thermometers should be carried inside.
3. Industrial Uses of Mercury Thermometers
Mercury thermometers are easy to use and provide reliable results. Large-scale, high-temperature applications in power plants and piping have the potential to have a profound effect on the manufacturing sector.
A thermometer is an essential part of most pieces of machinery used in factories today, from chemical storage tanks and vats to heating and cooling devices.
A simple mercury thermometer can have a significant effect on the quality of processed food in smaller-scale home industrial applications such as canneries, breweries, candy making, bakeries, wineries, and dairies.
4. Educational and Medical Uses of Mercury Thermometers
Getting your hands dirty with different chemicals is an inevitable part of every experiment. Measurement and sizing may be done with the right equipment. Without the necessary equipment, achieving the ideal temperature might be challenging. That's Why It's a Bad Idea to Mess Around with Laboratory Chemicals.
Mercury thermometers demand careful attention when being used for either educational or medical purposes. Mercury thermometers, for example, can be used for a wide variety of purposes.
5. Restrictions on the Use of Mercury Thermometers
Due to its hazard, several governments have limited or outright prohibited the use of mercury in certain applications. Many nations have banned this basic medical gadget in hospitals and schools, and some states in the United States have made it unlawful to sell, use, or distribute mercury thermometers. What was once useful for a wide variety of purposes is now restricted to a narrower range of applications and has been refocused on health.
The public and government are investigating a range of accurate and dependable mercury-free thermometers as potential replacements. Digital thermometers that run on batteries or the sun are even more eco-friendly options. These two examples demonstrate the progress and success of technological innovation.
Comparison Between Mercury & Digital Thermometer
Mercury Thermometer Vs Digital thermometer
1. Mercury Thermometer
A glass thermometer like this is one of the oldest and most reliable methods of measuring body temperature. Mercury, a heavy and toxic metal, is present. Using the bar's resting place on the tube's calibrated temperature scale, you may determine the room temperature. The measurement is based on the natural chemical interaction between mercury and temperature.
Pros:
- In either extreme heat or cold, a mercury thermometer will not crack.
- It has a high-temperature measuring capacity and is an excellent heat conductor
- Because mercury doesn't drip down the thermometer's glass, the readings are reliable.
- It's crucial equipment for every laboratory.
Cons:
- Toxic mercury. Take caution when handling it.
- A mercury thermometer's glass construction makes it prone to shattering
- Mercury spreads quickly if it falls to the ground, making the area hazardous and difficult to clean up.
- The reading itself is a time-consuming process.
2. Digital Thermometer
In recent years, digital thermometers have surpassed mercury ones in terms of popularity. A temperature sensor detects the environment's heat and relays that information to the user via the gadget's built-in screen. It employs voltage and metal probes to achieve its goals. They are powered by batteries and need to be recharged very infrequently.
Pros:
- A digital thermometer can be used quickly and easily.
- It provides readings much more quickly than a traditional mercury thermometer.
- Since it lacks potentially dangerous compounds, it is safer to use.
- As compared to a mercury thermometer, it provides more accurate readings.
Cons:
- In case the batteries in your digital thermometer ever die, you should always have a backup set on hand
- The results may not be reliable if the batteries are nearly dead
- The battery's eventual depletion is notoriously hard to foresee.
- Getting a digital thermometer clean is tricky because water can cause mechanical havoc.
3. Comparison
It's difficult to come down on the side of any of these two thermometers. Both have unique characteristics and pros and cons. Lab glassware such as mercury thermometers has replaced its historical use in the home. Mercury thermometers are being phased out in favor of their digital counterparts in a variety of settings, including the home and the workplace. Which thermometer is best for you depends on how precise you need it to be and what you want to use it for.