Question

A thermometer is used to measure ?

Answer 1

What a thermometer measure depends on what is the type of thermometer. So, first, describe what a regular thermometer is and what are its types and later it will be clear what it is used for.

Complete answer:
The general answer to what a thermometer measures is “ a thermometer measures temperature”. However, the primary point of discussion is the temperature of what? A thermometer can measure the temperature of all states of matter, solid, liquid and gas. And it measures the temperature with units of Fahrenheit, Celcius and Kelvin.

There are various types of thermometer, one of them is the liquid thermometer. The liquid in the liquid thermometer expands when it feels the heat. Mercury is the popular liquid that is being used in a liquid thermometer and it is available in both Celcius and Fahrenheit scales.The limitation of a mercury-based liquid thermometer is that it cannot be used to measure temperatures in Kelvin.

The thermometers that are measured in units of Kelvin are generally used for recording tiny variations in radiation and such thermometers are termed electronic thermometers. The records are converted to temperature readings with the help of computers and a thermistor – a device that converts resistance into an electric current.

Note: There are various other types of thermometers like the cryometer or the pyrometers which are used for various other purposes. There are also thermometers that are specially designed for astronomers to measure temperature in space with the help of infrared radiations.