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A vapour pressure thermometer is a thermometer that uses a pressure gauge to measure the vapour pressure of a liquid. [1]
In thermodynamics, the triple point of a substance is the temperature and pressure at which the three phases of that substance coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium. It is that temperature and pressure at which the sublimation curve, fusion curve and the vaporisation curve meet. For example, the triple point of mercury occurs at a temperature of −38.8 °C (−37.8 °F) and a pressure of 0.165 mPa.
A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient. A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor in which some change occurs with a change in temperature; and (2) some means of converting this change into a numerical value. Thermometers are widely used in technology and industry to monitor processes, in meteorology, in medicine, and in scientific research.
Vapor pressure or equilibrium vapor pressure is defined as the pressure exerted by a vapor in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed phases at a given temperature in a closed system. The equilibrium vapor pressure is an indication of a liquid's evaporation rate. It relates to the tendency of particles to escape from the liquid. A substance with a high vapor pressure at normal temperatures is often referred to as volatile. The pressure exhibited by vapor present above a liquid surface is known as vapor pressure. As the temperature of a liquid increases, the kinetic energy of its molecules also increases. As the kinetic energy of the molecules increases, the number of molecules transitioning into a vapor also increases, thereby increasing the vapor pressure.
A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis to help find surface troughs, pressure systems and frontal boundaries.
Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmosphere. There are two main types of boiling: nucleate boiling where small bubbles of vapour form at discrete points, and critical heat flux boiling where the boiling surface is heated above a certain critical temperature and a film of vapor forms on the surface. Transition boiling is an intermediate, unstable form of boiling with elements of both types. The boiling point of water is 100 °C or 212 °F but is lower with the decreased atmospheric pressure found at higher altitudes.
The following is a timeline of low-temperature technology and cryogenic technology. It also lists important milestones in thermometry, thermodynamics, statistical physics and calorimetry, that were crucial in development of low temperature systems.
The mercury-in-glass or mercury thermometer was invented by physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in Amsterdam (1714). It consists of a bulb containing mercury attached to a glass tube of narrow diameter; the volume of mercury in the tube is much less than the volume in the bulb. The volume of mercury changes slightly with temperature; the small change in volume drives the narrow mercury column a relatively long way up the tube. The space above the mercury may be filled with nitrogen gas or it may be at less than atmospheric pressure, a partial vacuum.
Charles's law is an experimental gas law that describes how gases tend to expand when heated. A modern statement of Charles's law is:
When the pressure on a sample of a dry gas is held constant, the Kelvin temperature and the volume will be in direct proportion.
Gay-Lussac's law states that the pressure of a given mass of gas varies directly with the absolute temperature of the gas when the volume is kept constant. Mathematically, it can be written as: . It is a special case of the ideal gas law. Gay-Lussac is recognized for the Pressure Law which established that the pressure of an enclosed gas is directly proportional to its temperature and which he was the first to formulate. He is also sometimes credited with being the first to publish convincing evidence that shows the relationship between the pressure and temperature of a fixed mass of gas kept at a constant volume.
Psychrometrics is the field of engineering concerned with the physical and thermodynamic properties of gas-vapor mixtures.
The International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) is an equipment calibration standard specified by the International Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM) for making measurements on the Kelvin and Celsius temperature scales. It is an approximation of thermodynamic temperature that facilitates the comparability and compatibility of temperature measurements internationally. It defines fourteen calibration points ranging from 0.65 K to 1357.77 K and is subdivided into multiple temperature ranges which overlap in some instances. ITS-90 is the most recent of a series of International Temperature Scales adopted by the CIPM since 1927. Adopted at the 1989 General Conference on Weights and Measures, it supersedes the International Practical Temperature Scale of 1968 and the 1976 "Provisional 0.5 K to 30 K Temperature Scale". The CCT has also published several online guidebooks to aid realisations of the ITS-90. The lowest temperature covered by the ITS-90 is 0.65 K. In 2000, the temperature scale was extended further, to 0.9 mK, by the adoption of a supplemental scale, known as the Provisional Low Temperature Scale of 2000 (PLTS-2000).
Zinc selenide (ZnSe) is a light-yellow, solid compound comprising zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se). It is an intrinsic semiconductor with a band gap of about 2.70 eV at 25 °C (77 °F). ZnSe rarely occurs in nature, and is found in the mineral that was named after Hans Stille called "stilleite."
Temperature measurement describes the process of measuring a current local temperature for immediate or later evaluation. Datasets consisting of repeated standardized measurements can be used to assess temperature trends.
Six's maximum and minimum thermometer is a registering thermometer that can record the maximum and minimum temperatures reached over a period of time, for example 24 hours. It is used to record the extremes of temperature at a location, for instance in meteorology and horticulture. It was invented by the British scientist James Six, in 1780; the same basic design remains in use.
A thermodynamic instrument is any device which facilitates the quantitative measurement of thermodynamic systems. In order for a thermodynamic parameter to be truly defined, a technique for its measurement must be specified. For example, the ultimate definition of temperature is "what a thermometer reads". The question follows – what is a thermometer?
The wet-bulb temperature (WBT) is the temperature read by a thermometer covered in water-soaked cloth over which air is passed. At 100% relative humidity, the wet-bulb temperature is equal to the air temperature ; at lower humidity the wet-bulb temperature is lower than dry-bulb temperature because of evaporative cooling.
The vapour pressure of water is the pressure exerted by molecules of water vapor in gaseous form. The saturation vapour pressure is the pressure at which water vapour is in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed state. At pressures higher than vapour pressure, water would condense, whilst at lower pressures it would evaporate or sublimate. The saturation vapour pressure of water increases with increasing temperature and can be determined with the Clausius–Clapeyron relation. The boiling point of water is the temperature at which the saturated vapour pressure equals the ambient pressure.
The psychrometric constant relates the partial pressure of water in air to the air temperature. This lets one interpolate actual vapor pressure from paired dry and wet thermometer bulb temperature readings.
The degree Celsius is a unit of temperature on the Celsius scale, a temperature scale originally known as the centigrade scale. The degree Celsius can refer to a specific temperature on the Celsius scale or a unit to indicate a difference or range between two temperatures. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who developed a similar temperature scale in 1742. Before being renamed to honour Anders Celsius in 1948, the unit was called centigrade, from the Latin centum, which means 100, and gradus, which means steps. Most major countries use this scale; the other major scale, Fahrenheit, is still used in the United States, some island territories, and Liberia. The Kelvin scale is of use in the sciences, with 0 K representing absolute zero.
A cryometer is a thermometer used to measure very low temperatures of objects. Ethanol-filled thermometers are used in preference to mercury for meteorological measurements of minimum temperatures and can be used down to −70 °C. The physical limitation of the ability of a thermometer to measure low temperature is the freezing point of the liquid used.