LIST OF MATERIALS:
1. Test tube or similar container.
2.Isopropyl Alcohol
3. Food coloring
(4.Parafilm[not necessary])
5. Drinking Straw
6. Permanent Marker
7. 3 gloves
8. 1 rubber band
9. Hot Glue
10. Tape
11. Pre-functioning Thermometer.
PART I:
THE BUILDATION
1. Put your gloves on.
2.Take a test tube
3.Fill it with Isopropyl Alchohol
4. Cover it with Parafilm (If you don't have any, skip this step)
5. Cut two fingers off of the third glove and stretch them both over the parafilm.
6. Secure them with a rubber band.
7. Stab a hole through the fingers
8. Insert a straw and completely smother the top of the test tube with hot glue down to the rubber band.
9. Fill 1/3 of the straw with Isopropyl Alcohol. (This will be the level of room temperature)
10. Seal the end of the straw with tape.
PART II:
THE CALIBRATION
1. Heat up a glass of water to 100°F
2. Insert thermometer and wait 5 mins.
3.Mark the level of the alcohol with a permanent marker.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for: 80°, 70° , 60°... (you may need to use a freezer)
You have now built a thermometer!
This is cool. Why does it work? Doesn't alcohol have different boiling/freezing points? Doesn't the liquid squirt out the end of the straw? Signed, an incompetent science lover
ReplyDelete1) because when matter heats up, it expands; hence the alcohol rising.
Delete2)Yes Melting point:
−89 °C, 184 K, -128 °F
Boiling point:
82.5 °C, 356 K, 181 °F
3)No, if you read the whole thing you would realize that the end is sealed.
Very cool, Alex! Love the illustrations. Now, can you get it to warm up a little outside??!!!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately not yet. I'm thinking about importing air from a certain Asian country. Maybe that will stop this global-cooling people are talking about.
DeleteExcellent Alex. So to build a Thermometer you need ..... a thermometer! But somebody must have created the 1st thermometer. Who was he? and how did he built it?
ReplyDeleteKeep bloggng about cool stuff. We love it!
Originally, Gallello Galilee invented a rudimentary "thermoscope" which only measured change in temperature. Then the doctor Santorio Santorio made measuring marks, but, similar to mine, it wasn't very accurate. Then, much later, Fahrenheit came along and made a accurate scale.
ReplyDelete