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The very first thermometers, invented by several inventors at around the same time, were called thermoscopes. However, it was Italian inventor Santorio Santorio who placed the first numerical scale on these devices.
Galileo Galilei who first invented a simple water thermometer in 1593 which, for the first time, enabled temperature variations to be measured with any accuracy. But it was Gabriel Fahrenheit in1714 who invented the first mercury thermometer, the kind we are familiar with today. (And, of course, whose namesake we commonly use in the United States to measure temperature).
The typical modern-day thermometer uses materials that change in some way when heated or cooled. Although an extremely simple concept, it turned out to be one of the most effective and accurate ways of measuring temperature. When materials like mercury or alcohol heat, they expand. When they cool, they contract. This is what causes the rising and falling of the liquid in the glass tube of a thermometer.
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Modern Thermometers
Thermometers have come a long way since the 16th Century. For starters, the discovery of the harmful, toxic nature of mercury has caused nearly all mercury-based thermometers to be virtually phased out these days. Most modern glass-tube thermometers contain alcohol or some other non-toxic material.
Today, we have digital thermometers that are able to provide many more features that standard thermometers. Digital thermometers typically use an LCD or LED screen to display numerical information and text. They come in both the battery-powered and AC/DC variety, and most are able to display temperature in Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin readings.
They offer a wide variety of features like temperature scale readings for tracking temperature change, and some are even sensitive enough to detect temperature in tenths of degrees. Both outdoor and indoor digital thermometers are available to suit whatever application you need.
One of the handiest features of digital thermometers is wireless technology. For example, one or more "receivers" can be placed inside a home with an additional thermometer outside that wirelessly transmits the outdoor temperature - among other information - back to the receivers inside. This enables the user not only to have quick access to their interior temperature, but the outdoor as well.
There are many other useful bells and whistles that one can get in a modern digital thermometer, so do a little research before you buy to you get the features you need.
