Thermometer

 

Thermometers are devices that measures and indicates temperatures. There are many different types of thermometers, but now that it’s the modern era, we are now using the digital ones. 

 

Before, we had to make use of mercury that runs up a long, narrow tube, going higher up the tube when the temperature increases. This was quite impractical as there are more chances of errors, most commonly parallax errors, and it takes time to record the temperature. Moreover, mercury is a dangerous substance should the device be broken.

 

However, the digital one does not utilise any such dangerous chemicals. It makes use of the thermistor, also known as thermal resistor, to record temperatures. The thermistor is a semi-conductor whose electrical conductivity changes as temperature changes, being a bad conductor when temperature is low. A simple computer will analyse the resistance and determine the temperature. Because it’s some sort of a conductor, it’s able to change quickly. Plus it has a disposable guard to prevent infection. 

 

Thermometers are fairly important in our lives. The human body can only function well over a short range of temperatures, so a slight change can make a big, influential difference on us. Especially the digital thermometers are useful since it gives a more accurate reading than the usual mercury thermometer.