[NOTES ON MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE FOR DOUBLE AWARD AND PURE PHYSICS ] February 5, 2012

Measurement of temperature

What is temperature?

Temperature is a measure of the degree of hotness or coldness of a body. Or

temperature is a measure of the internal energy of a body.

Temperature is measured in degrees Celsius using a thermometer. Temp is measured

in terms of a property of matter which changes with it. Examples of such properties are:

i. The volume of a gas at a constant pressure

ii. The pressure of a gas at a constant volume
iii. The resistance of a pure metal e.g. platinum or tungsten
iv. The voltage or e.m.f.
v. The volume or expansion of a liquid
vi. A color of a substance

All thermometers have a scale on them which we read to find the temp called a
temperature scale. Examples of temp scales are:

(i) degrees Celsius scale (°C)

(ii) degrees Fahrenheit (°F)
(iii) the kelvin scale (K)

The S.I. unit of temp is the kelvin (K).

The fixed points of a temperature scale

Every temp scale has two fixed points; the lower fixed point and the upper fixed
point.

1. The lower fixed point

This is the temp of pure melting ice. The value of the lower fixed point is 0 °C or 273 K.
The lower fixed point is also known as the ice point.

2. The upper fixed point

The upper fixed point is the temp of steam above boiling water at sea level or standard
atmospheric pressure. Its value is 100 °C or 373 K. The upper fixed point is also known
as the steam point.

The distance between the fixed points is called the fundamental interval.
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 [NOTES ON MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE FOR DOUBLE AWARD AND PURE PHYSICS ] February 5, 2012

Converting temperature from the Celsius scale to the Kelvin scale or vice-versa

If T is the temp on the Kelvin scale or absolute scale and Θ is the temp on the degrees
Celsius scale, then

T/K = Θ + 273 or Θ /°C = T - 273

i.e To convert from a degrees Celsius temp to a kelvin temp add 273, and to convert
from a kelvin temp to a degrees Celsius temp subtract 273.

Examples

1. 10 C = (10 + 273) K = 283 K

2. 300 K = (300 – 273) °C = 27 °C

The structure and action of a liquid-in-glass thermometer

(a) Laboratory thermometer

A laboratory thermo is used to measure temp of substances in laboratories. The two

liquids normally used in this thermo are mercury and alcohol. The liquid is contained in
a thin-walled bulb at the end of a long thick-walled capillary tube.

Exercise

Draw a labelled diagram of a laboratory thermometer. Refer to GCSE PHYSICS 4 th

Edition, page 152, Fig. 35.2.

(b) Clinical thermometer

This thermo is used to measure the temp of the human body. The commonly used liquid
in this thermo is mercury. Alcohol is also used in clinical thermos. This thermo has a
very thin bulb wall so that the mercury quickly acquires the temperature of the body.

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The bore of the capillary tube is very narrow to give a large change in length for a small
change in temp. The scale of this thermo is restricted to a small range of 35 – 42 °C.
This is because the normal body temp is about 37 °C.

Special features of a clinical thermometer

1. It has a constriction which prevents the back flow of mercury before the temp is
read.
2. It has a narrow bore which makes it to be more sensitive, i.e. small changes of
temp cause large change in the length of the mercury column.
3. Part of its stem is painted white so that it reflects light and makes the mercury
column visible.
4. Its stem has a triangular cross-section so that it magnifies the mercury column
and makes the thermo to be read more easily.

Thermometric liquids

The two liquids in thermometers are mercury and alcohol. Both have advantages and
disadvantages.

Mercury

The advantages of using mercury in a thermometer are:

a) it does not wet (cling to the sides of) the tube;

b) it is a good conductor and the whole liquid acquires the temp of the surroundings;
c) it expands uniformly;
d) it has a high boiling point (357 °C);
e) it has a low specific heat capacity.

The disadvantages of using mercury are:

a) it has a high freezing point (-39 °C);

b) its linear expansion is fairly low.

N.B. The high freezing point means that it cannot be used in winter in countries where
the temp gets very low.

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Alcohol

The advantages of using alcohol in a thermometer are:

a) it expands uniformly;
b) it has a large linear expansion;
c) it has low freezing point (-115 °C).

The disadvantages of using alcohol are:

a) it wets (stick to) the tube;

b) it has a low boiling point (78 °C);
c) it has a high specific heat capacity.
d)

Calibrating a liquid-in-glass thermometer (making a scale on a liquid-in-glass

thermo)

A scale on a thermometer is made by marking the fixed points first.

a) Determination of the lower fixed point

This point is determined by submerging the bulb and the lower part of the stem of a
thermo in a funnel containing pure melting ice. Care is taken to ensure that the bulb is in
good contact with the ice, and that the mercury level is just above the surface of the ice.

When the liquid level in the thermo remains steady for some time, a mark is made at
that point on the stem. This mark is labelled (0 °C).

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b) Determination of the upper fixed point

This point is determined by suspending a thermo in steam above boiling water at std
atmospheric pressure. The thermo is contained in a double-walled jacket so that it is
completely surrounded by steam, and the mercury thread protrudes just above the cork.

When the liquid level remains steady for some time a mark is made at this point on
stem. This mark is labelled 100 °C. A manometer is incorporated in the apparatus to
check that the pressure inside is the apparatus is the same as that outside, and the
external pressure is noted.

After marking the fixed points, the distance between them (fundamental interval) is
measured. This distance is then divided into one hundred equal parts. These are the
degrees of the Celsius scale and each mark represents 1 °C.

Additional marks are made on the stem below the 0 °C mark and above the 100 °C
using the distance between the degrees Celsius marks. This enables the thermo to
measure temps which are below 0 °C and those that are above 100 °C.

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USING AN UNCALIBRATED THERMOMETER TO MEASURE TEMPERATURE

An uncalibrated (ungraduated) thermo can be used to measure temp. To do this, one

has to know or measure the distance between the fixed points. Then one has to place
the bulb of a thermo in or on different substances at different temps and measure the
length of the liquid column. To find the value of the unknown (measured) temp, one has
to use proportionality between the length of the liquid column or the distance moved by
a liquid column and temp.

Examples

1. The lower and upper fixed points on a thermo are 220 mm apart. When the thermo is
placed in a room, the end of the mercury column is 49.5 mm above the lower fixed
point. What is the temp of the room?

Solution:

We have 220 mm : 100 °C

49.5 mm : T where T is the unknown temp

Cross multiplying we get; 220 mm x T = 49.5 mm x 100 °C

⬄ 220 T = 4950 °C

⬄T= = 22. 5 °C

2. A mercury thermometer is calibrated by immersing it in turn in melting ice and then

boiling water. The column of the mercury is respectively 2.0 cm and 22.0 cm long. What
is the temperature when the column is 7.0 cm long?

Solution:

The distance between the fixed points (fundamental interval) = 22.0 cm – 2.0 cm

= 20.0 cm

Again, we use ratio and proportionality between increase in length of the mercury
column and temp.

i.e. 20.0 cm : 100 °C

7.0 cm : T => 20 cm x T = 7.0 cm x 100 °C ⬄ T = = 35 °C

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Thermocouple thermometer

A thermocouple thermometer consists of two wires of different materials, e.g. copper

and iron, joined together. The ends of two wires, A (copper) and B (iron) are twisted or
welded together to form junctions, the hot junction and the cold junction. When one
junction is at a higher temp than the other an electric current flows and produces a
deflection on a galvanometer (a sensitive ammeter) which depends on the temp
difference. i.e. the deflection on a galvanometer is proportional to temp difference
between the two junctions.

Thermocouples are used in industries to measure a wide range of temperature from

-250 °C up to about 1500 °C.

Galvanometer (G)

A (copper) A (copper)

B (iron) ice
hot junction cold
junction Water at 0 °C

Thermocouple thermometer

Prepared by P. H. Moronko