Temperature

Thermometry (Aka. temperature measurement) is essential to a wide range of

activities, including manufacturing, scientific research, and medical practice. The
ability to measure temperature accurately was only developed recently.

 Temperature (like mass, length, time) is a chosen fundamental quantity.

Therefore, arbitrarily chosen units (such as degrees Celsius, degrees
Fahrenheit or Kelvin) are used to measure temperature.
 Temperature is measured quantitatively by constructing a thermometer
which makes use of a physical property of matter that varies continuously
with temperature – thermometric property.

Thermometric Property
An instrument, a thermometer, is required to measure temperature objectively.
The thermometer makes use of a physical property of a thermometric substance
which changes continuously with temperature. The physical property is referred
to as thermometric property.
Thermometric Properties Used In Various
Thermometers
The following table shows some of the thermometric properties of matter that are
used in the various thermometers:

Thermometric Property Thermometer

Volume expansion of a gas Gas thermometer

Volume expansion of a liquid Laboratory or clinical thermometer

Volume expansion of a solid Bi-metallic strip thermometer

Pressure change of a fixed mass of gas Constant – volume gas thermometer

Changes in e.m.f. Thermocouple

Changes in electrical resistance Resistance thermometer or thermistor

Note: You can visit UY1: Measurement Of Temperature for a in-depth review of
the different types of thermometers.
A good thermometric property of matter should vary:

 continuously with temperature

 uniquely over the the range of temperature to be measured
 its variation should be measurable.
Volume As Thermometric Property
Most solids or liquids or gases expand and contract their volume when the
temperature around them changes.

Mercury is the only elemental metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures.

Mercury is silvery white and freezes into a soft solid like tin or lead at about -39
°C. Mercury does not wet glass or cling to it, and this property, coupled with its
uniform volume expansion throughout its liquid range, makes it useful in liquid-in-
glass thermometers.
Gases such as nitrogen or simply air are also suitable substances for use in
volumetric gas thermometers. Typically, these gas thermometers work best at
measuring very low temperatures.

Bimetallic strip
Solid strips of different materials such as copper and aluminum can be made to
stick together (bi-metallic strip). When the temperature of its surroundings
changes, the different materials expand at different amounts, causing the
bimetallic strip to bend, providing an indication to the change in temperature.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Mercury as thermometric substance

Advantages Disadvantages

It is a good conductor of heat (High thermal

Poisonous
conductivity)

Does not wet (cling to the sides) of the tube Small thermal expansion

High boiling point (357∘C357∘C) Expensive

Uniform expansion High freezing point, −39∘C−39∘C (Cannot be used in plac

are very cold)

Respond quickly to temperature changes  

Visible meniscus  
Advantages & Disadvantages of Alcohol as thermometric substance

Advantages Disadvantages

Safe liquid Wets the tube

Low freezing point (−115∘C−115∘C) Low boiling point (78∘C78∘C)

Large expansivity Does not react quickly to temperature changes

Cheap Needs to be dyed since it is colourless

  Non-uniform expansion
Advantages & Disadvantages Of Using Mercury Or Alcohol In
Thermometers

Mercury Alcohol

Silver Colourless, usually dyed red

High thermal conductivity Low thermal conductivity

(Can respond very quickly to (Takes a longer time to reach its
temperature changes) surrounding temperature)

Uniform expansion Non-uniform expansion

Does not wet glass Wets glass

Poisonous liquid Safe liquid

Expensive Cheap

Very dense liquid Less dense liquid

Small thermal expansion

Large thermal expansion
(Scale markings on stem are
(Scale marking on stem are far apart
very close to one another
Easy to read)
Hard to read)

Defining A Temperature Scale

A thermometer is useless without a temperature scale (the markings on the
thermometer). In order to define a temperature scale, the following steps are
required:

1. Choose a thermometric substance with a suitable thermometric properties.

2. Select two fixed points which are easily obtainable and reproducible.
(Fixed points are explained in more details below.)
3. Divide the temperature range between the two fixed points into equal
divisions.
Fixed Points

 Fixed points are used in calibrating thermometers. To calibrate a

thermometer is to mark a thermometer so that you can use it to measure
temperature accurately. A fixed point is a standard degree of hotness or
coldness such as the melting point of ice or boiling point of water.
 This method of using two fixed points to calibrate a thermometer assumes
that temperature changes linearly with the thermometric property. This
means that the physical property (that is chosen) changes evenly and
regularly with temperature and if we draw a graph of temperature against
the thermometric property, we should get a straight-line graph.
Centigrade scale

Centigrade Scale
The two fixed points used in the Centigrade scale are:
 Steam point (upper fixed point) – The temperature at which pure water
boils at one atmospheric pressure and is assigned the value of 100 °C.
 Ice point (lower fixed point) – The temperature at which pure ice melts at
one atmospheric pressure and is assigned the value of 0 °C.
Determination of ice point
1. The bulb of the thermometer is immersed into a container filled with pure
melting ice. In order to ensure that the contact between the bulb and ice is
good, ice shavings can be used.
2. When the level indicated by the thermometric substance remains steady
after some time, a mark will be made at that point. This mark will
corresponds to the ice point (lower fixed point) and is assigned the value
of 0 °C.
Determination of steam point
1. The bulb of the thermometer should be placed into a container filled with
pure boiling water OR placed just above the container (such that it is in
contact with the emerging steam). It is important to ensure that the
pressure of the environment/room is the same as the atmospheric
pressure outside of the environment/room. Different atmospheric
conditions will result in the thermometer showing different/wrong
temperature readings.
2. When the level indicated by the thermometric substance remains steady
after some time, a mark will be made at that point. This mark will
corresponds to the steam point (upper fixed point) and is assigned the
value of 100 °C.
For the Centigrade scale, the distance between the ice point and the steam point
is divided into 100 equal parts. Each mark on the thermometer is a measure of 1
°C.

Calculation of temperature on Centigrade scale:

 Use an unmarked mercury thermometer

 Place the thermometer just above pure boiling water(upper fixed point) and
record its length of mercury thread, l100°, from a reference level (such as
base of the reservoir). Repeat the same for the pure melting ice (lower
fixed point) and record its length of mercury thread, l0°.
 Now place the same thermometer in an unknown temperature, θ°C and
record its length of mercury thread, lθ°.
 The temperature θ°C can be calculated by simple proportion


 Note: X is the thermometric property which varies uniformly with
temperature. In the case of a laboratory thermometer or clinical
thermometer, X will be the length of the mercury thread.
Kelvin (Absolute) Scale

The figure above shows the comparison between the Celcius scale (centigrade
scale) and the Kelvin scale.

The unit for the Kelvin Scale is the Kelvin (K), which is the SI unit for
temperature. 1 K is defined as the 1273.161273.16 of the temperature of the triple
point of water. The triple point of water is the temperature at which saturated
water vapour, pure water and ice all coexist in equilibrium (at 0.01 °C).
The intervals on both Kelvin and Celsius scales are the same, such that a
difference of 1 K is equivalent to a difference of 1 °C.

You can convert temperature from Celcius scale (centigrade scale) to Kelvin
scale and vice versa by using:

θ/∘C=T/K−273.15
Temperature Kelvin Scale Celcius Scale

Absolute Zero 0K −273∘C−273∘C

Ice Point 273 K 0∘C0∘C

Steam Point 373 K 100∘C100∘C

Note that absolute zero is defined as the coldest possible temperature whereby
all the particle motion stops.