| self-registering thermometer | A thermometer in which the maximum or minimum temperature, during the period of observation, is registered by means of a special appliance; in the clinical thermometer only the highest temperature is registered, usually by a steel bar above the column of mercury or by a segment of the mercury separated from the main column by a bubble of air; after the maximum temperature is registered, the bar or segment of mercury remains in place as the column of mercury contracts. (05 Mar 2000) |
|---|---|
| spirit thermometer | A thermometer filled with alcohol, used to measure extreme degrees of cold. (05 Mar 2000) |
| surface thermometer | A thermometer in the form of a disk or strip that indicates the temperature of the portion of the skin to which it is applied. (05 Mar 2000) |
| differential thermometer | <instrument, physics> An instrument for indicating changes of temperature without indicating the degree of heat by which it is affected; especially, an instrument contrived by Count Rumford which, as modified by Professor Leslie, was afterward called the differential thermometer. Origin: Thermo- + -scope. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| thermometer | <physics> An instrument for measuring temperature, founded on the principle that changes of temperature in bodies are accompained by proportional changes in their volumes or dimensions. The thermometer usually consists of a glass tube of capillary bore, terminating in a bulb, and containing mercury or alcohol, which expanding or contracting according to the temperature to which it is exposed, indicates the degree of heat or cold by the amount of space occupied, as shown by the position of the top of the liquid column on a graduated scale. See Centigrade, Fahrenheit, and Reaumur. To reduce degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Centigrade, substract 32 deg and multiply by 5/9; to reduce degrees Centigrade to degrees Fahrenheit, multiply by 9/5 and add 32 deg . Air thermometer, Balance thermometer, etc. See Air, Balance, etc. Metallic thermometer, a form of thermometer indicating changes of temperature by the expansion or contraction of rods or strips of metal. Register thermometer, or Self-registering thermometer, a thermometer that registers the maximum and minimum of temperature occurring in the interval of time between two consecutive settings of the instrument. A common form contains a bit of steel wire to be pushed before the column and left at the point of maximum temperature, or a slide of enamel, which is drawn back by the liquid, and left within it at the point of minimum temperature. Origin: Thermal. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |