Thermometers

The invention of the thermometer was due to the work of many early scientists, each adding some bit of improvement to the design. Some history books list Galileo Galilei as its inventor but what he created was a thermoscope. It showed that the temperature had changed but could not measure the variance. It was not until 1612 when Santorio Santorio developed an early air thermometer that applied a scale to the readings that a true thermometer existed and a hundred years later before Gabriel Fahrenheit developed his mercury filled thermometer that any real accuracy was achieved. Using the freezing and boiling points of water as benchmarks for measuring, both the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales are still in use today.

Of the types of thermometers in use today, the medical profession uses a wide variety of designs for specialized purposes. The Temporal Artery Thermometer is a non-invasive infrared scanner that can read a body's temperature with just a swipe across the forehead. The basal thermometer has been developed as an accurate method of determining the rise in a woman's body temperature that occurs during ovulation.
Modern advances have lead to the development of digital thermometers that can accurately take a measurement in seconds rather than the minute or more required for the old mercury filled thermometers. Almost all ear thermometers are now made digitally. Being able to insert a soft rubber cone into the ear without having to push down into the ear canal makes this type of thermometer especially good when working with children and infants.

The Exergen temporal thermometer is a self powered infrared temperature sensor which has become the essential standard in many industrial fields for its accuracy and ease of use. Its ability to read temperatures without having to contact the material in question has made it ideal for mechanical as well as cooking purposes. The Taylor Instant Read Digital thermometer is very popular in kitchens great and small for its quick operation and effective range from a low of 58 degrees to a high of over 500 degrees. It has replaced the glass and stainless steel long stem thermometers in many kitchens.

The laser thermometer is very similar to the digital infrared thermometer and has been used in quite a few industrial applications where direct contact with the substance to be measured cannot be touched. You can buy thermometer kits for the school classroom so that students can learn about temperature measurement by building their own thermometer. For displaying data and growth of a project you can use the thermometer motif in creating a "goal" thermometer to chart the increase of fundraising efforts or other fluctuating data.