What is a thermometer?
A thermometer is an instrument that measures the temperature of a system in a quantitative way. The easiest way to do this is to find a substance having a property that changes in a regular way with its temperature. The most direct ‘regular’ way is a linear one: t(x) = ax + b, where t is the temperature of the substance and changes as the property x of the substance changes. The constants a and b depend on the substance used and may be evaluated by specifying two temperature points on the scale, such as 32° for the freezing point of water and 212° for its boiling point. For example, the element mercury is liquid in the temperature range of -38.9° C to 356.7° C (we’ll discuss the Celsius ° C scale later). As a liquid, mercury expands as it gets warmer, its expansion rate is linear and can be accurately calibrated. The mercury-in-glass thermometer illustrated in the above figure contains a bulb filled with mercury that is allowed to expand into a capillary. Its rate of expansion is calib
