COMMON

TOOLS IN
MEASURING
TEMPERATUR
E
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Mercury-in-glass
thermometer
 Mercury has been frequently
used in thermometers
because it remains in liquid
form throughout a wide
range of temperatures:
-37.89 degrees Fahrenheit to
674.06 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Mercury will freeze solid at
-37.89 degrees F, and if
there is nitrogen in the
space above the mercury,
it will flow down and
become trapped below the
mercury when it thaws. It
will then need to be taken
in for repair before it can
be used again.
Alcohol-in-glass
thermometer
• The most common liquid used in
common household thermometers
used to be mercury, but because of
that material's toxicity, it has been
replaced by alcohol, or ethanol. An
alcohol thermometer is a small sealed
tube made of glass that has a small
hollow bulb on one end and a thin
capillary opening running through the
length of its center.
• An alcohol thermometer is limited
in its usefulness to the freezing
and boiling points of the liquid
inside it. Ethanol vaporizes at 172
degrees F, well short of water's
boiling point. This makes the
alcohol thermometer an effective
tool for measuring day and night
time temperatures, as well as the
temperature of the human body,
but not particularly useful in lab
settings where more extreme
temperatures must be observed.
Bimetallic thermometer
 The bimetallic thermometer
consists of a bimetallic strip. A
bimetal strip is made of two
thin metal strips that have
different coefficients of
expansion. The two metal
strips are joined by brazing, so
that the relative movement
between them is stopped.
 The bimetal strip has the
shape of a cantilevered
beam. An increase in
temperature will result in
deflection of the free end
of the strip as shown in
the diagram. This
deviation is linear and may
be related to changes in
temperature.
 The radius of the curvature of the bimetallic strip that was
initially planar is determined using the following
relationship.
R= t{3(1+m)² + (1+mn)[m²+1/mn]}/6(άh-άl)
(T2-T1)(1+m) ²
where,
R= radius of the curvature at the temperature
T2.
T = total thickness of the bimetallic strip =
(t1+t2)
m=t1/t2 = Thickness of lower – expansion
metal/thickness of higher – expansion metal.
άl= coefficient of expansion of lower
expansion metal.
άh= coefficient of expansion of higher
expansion metal.
T1 = Initial temperature.
Thermocouple
 Thermocouples are sensors
composed of two metals that
generate emfs (electromotive
forces) or voltages when there
are temperature differences
between them. The amount of
voltage produced is dependant
on these differences.
Thermocouples operate by
exploiting the Seebeck effect.
 The Seebeck effect was discovered by
German physician turned physicist 
Thomas Johann Seebeck (1770-1831).

 Seebeck found that when he produced

a series circuit by forming a junction of
two different metals, with one metal at
a higher temperature than the other,
that he was able to generate a
voltage. The larger the difference, the
higher the voltage, and he found that
the results were independent of the
shape of the metal.
Resistance thermometer
 Resistance thermometer are a type of
sensor used to measure temperature.
They are also known by a number of
different names including Resistance
temperature detectors (RTDs),
Platinum resistance thermometers
(PRTs) or Pt100 sensors. Resistance
thermometers are usually used to
measure temperatures between -200
and 500°C.
 Resistance thermometers
work by changing
resistance with a change
in temperature in a
repeatable manner.
Resistance thermometers
are made from a length
platinum that is either
wrapped around a ceramic
or glass core or has been
 The resistance thermometer
uses a sensitive element made
of extremely pure metals like
platinum, copper or nickel.
The resistance of the metal is
directly proportional to the
temperature. Mostly, platinum
is used in resistance
thermometer. The platinum
has high stability, and it can
withstand high temperature.
Optical pyrometer
 A brightness comparison is
made to measure the
temperature. As a measure of
the reference temperature, a
color change with the growth in
temperature is taken. The
device compares the brightness
produced by the radiation of the
object whose temperature is to
be measured, with that of a
reference temperature.
 The reference temperature is
produced by a lamp whose brightness
can be adjusted till its intensity
becomes equal to the brightness of
the source object. For an object, its
light intensity always depends on the
temperature of the object, whatever
may be its wavelength. After
adjusting the temperature, the
current passing through it is
measured using a multimeter, as its
value will be proportional to the
temperature of the source when
calibrated.
Total-radiation pyrometer
 Radiation pyrometer receives
all the radiation from a
particular are of hot body. The
term total radiation includes
both the visible and invisible
radiations. It consists of
radiation receiving element and
a measuring device.
  The characteristics of
total-radiation pyrometer
is non-linear. It has poor
sensitivity. This device is
not used for temperature
lower than 600 to 1200
degree Celsius. Output
from this pyrometer is
taken to pmmc instrument.
 Advantages of Radiation pyrometer:

Used to measure very high temperature.

High output signal and moderate cost.
No need to have contact with measuring
system.
Fast response.

Disadvantage of Radiation pyrometer:

Non-linear scale.
Error will occur.
Emmissivity of target material affects the
measurements.
Constant-volume gas thermometer
 A constant volume gas
thermometer is composed of a
bulb filled with a fixed amount
of a dilute gas that is attached
to a mercury manometer. A
manometer is a device used to
measure pressure.
 The mercury manometer has a
column partially filled with
mercury that is connected to a
flexible tube that has another
partially filled column of mercury,
called a reservoir, attached to the
other end. The height of the
mercury in the first column is set
to a reference point or pressure P
that it must stay at, while the
mercury in the reservoir is allowed
to move up and down in relation to
a scale or ruler.
 From the Law of Gay-Lussac, we
know that when the temperature
of an ideal gas increases, that
there is a corresponding
increase in pressure. Conversely,
when the temperature
decreases, so does the pressure.
Constant volume gas
thermometers operate on the
same principle, with the
restrictions that the gas is at low
pressure and the temperature of
it is well above that of
Calculations
For a pressure P, the equation
used to find the temperature T is
1) T = aP + b
 where a and b are
constants determined from
two fixed points, such as
ice at 0oC and steam at
100oC.
Silicon diode
 Most of the variables measured in
scientific investigations or
engineering applications depend,
by varying degrees, on
temperature. This necessitates the
simultaneous measurement of
temperature along with the
variable of interest in order to
perform high fidelity temperature
compensated measurements.
 Silicon diode based temperature
sensors (or silicon thermodiodes)
have the advantages of being low
cost, having an absolute
temperature measurement
capability as well as providing the
option of on-chip integration with
electronics circuits and a wide
temperature measurement range.
Leveraging these advantages,
engineers and scientists have used
silicon thermodiodes in numerous
and diverse applications.
Bulb and capillary sensor
 Bulb and Capillary style
thermostats use expanding
liquid to open or close contacts
in response to temperature
changes. Simple to use with a
calibrated knob for setting the
temperature and the ability to
directly switch load current for
one of two poles directly.
 Bulb and Capillary style
thermostats use expanding liquid
to open or close contacts in
response to temperature changes.
A fluid is encapsulated in a metal
tube (bulb and capillary) and
when the temperature changes
the fluid either expands or
contracts. This fluid change moves
the head which triggers a snap
action switch either opening or
closing the circuit.
 The bulb is typically a larger
diameter tube mounted in
the material flow being
sampled. The capillary is a
small tube that carries the
fluid away from the bulb to
the head. The head can be a
diaphragm or bellow, which
moves with the changing
temperatures.