What is the bottom of a thermometer?

What is the bottom of a thermometer?

The Bulb. A swelling, or bulb, at the bottom of the thermometer stores the mercury used in calculating temperature readings.

What is the fluid inside a thermometer?

In a mercury thermometer, a glass tube is filled with mercury and a standard temperature scale is marked on the tube. With changes in temperature, the mercury expands and contracts, and the temperature can be read from the scale. Mercury thermometers can be used to determine body, liquid, and vapor temperature.

What are the silver balls in a thermometer?

The “balls” are simply ballast used to keep the thermometer righted. Typically they are made of lead or steel.

Do thermometers still have mercury in them?

The oldest thermometers used are mercury in glass. Newer thermometers include non-mercury liquids in glass and digital and electronic devices that use sensors to measure temperature. Thermometers that check body temperature in the ear, across the forehead, or have a digital display do not contain mercury.

What is filled inside the glass bulb of a clinical thermometer?

Thermometer is made of a long narrow glass tube, with a bulb at one end. The narrow tube appears as a continuous silver line, because it is filled with mercury. Mercury is a metal which is in liquid state at room temperature and it readily expands or contracts at the slightest change in temperature.

What substance is used in thermometers?

Mercury is one of the most familiar materials used in liquid thermometers. Other liquids, such as kerosene or ethanol, may also be used in these types of thermometers.

What is the red stuff in a fish tank thermometer?

The red color is a colorant that has been added to the alcohol or petroleum. To make the bottom of the aquarium thermometer heavier, metal-colored balls are often added. If this thermometer breaks, a very small amount of alcohol is released into the aquarium. Alcohol in this amount is not harmful to the fish or plants.

What does the bulb of clinical thermometer contain?

Thermometer is a device used to measure the temperature of the body. It consists of a bulb at one end followed by a long strip on which the readings are marked. The bulb of a clinical thermometer contains mercury.

Where does the mercury bulb go on a thermometer?

The position of the thermometer is crucial: The entire mercury bulb must be positioned below the bottom of the orifice leading to the condenser. This ensures that the entire mercury reservoir is immersed in the rising vapors and that the temperature is accurate.

Why is the thermometer placement important in distillation?

The thermometer is positioned so the bulb is situated just below the sidearm of the 3-way. If the bulb is too the low, the heater would cause the temperature seen to be too high causing premature switching of the collecting flasks. What happens if the thermometer is too high in distillation?

What happens when the bulb of the thermocouple is too high?

If the bulb of the thermometer or tip of the thermocouple is placed too high in the condenser, then the hot vapors are likely to condense before they reach the thermometer. This will result in the recorded temperature being lower than the actual boiling temperature of the vapor.

Why is the bottom of a beaker hotter than the top?

The bottom is hotter. When you are heating a beaker on a hot plate or even on a stove, the very bottom of the beaker is much hotter than the rest of the solution, especially if the solution is not very well stirred. The heat moves from the hot plate, through the bottom of the beaker and into the solution.