Why is alcohol used instead of water in a thermometer?
Why is alcohol used instead of water in a thermometer?
Most thermometers are filled with mercury, but some are filled with alcohol. The reason we use alcohol instead of water is that alcohol has a lower freezing point (-114°C) than water (0°C). Also, alcohol doesn’t condensate on the top unlike water, which makes the reading of the thermometer easier to read.
Why is alcohol used instead of water?
As alcohol evaporates at a much faster rate compared with water due to its lower boiling temperature (82 compared to 100 degrees C), it is able to carry away more heat from the skin. This means for a given amount of time much more alcohol evaporates than water.
Why has mercury been replaced by alcohol in a thermometer?
There is a technical reason for using mercury in clinical thermometers. Mercury has a greater coefficient of thermal expansion than alcohol. This means a column of mercury will expand and rise more than a column of alcohol for the same temperature change. As a result, you can get finer readings with mercury.
Why do thermometers use alcohol or mercury instead of water?
Mercury is the only one in liquid state at room temperature. It’s used in thermometers because it has high coefficient of expansion. Hence, the slightest change in temperature is notable when it’s used in a thermometer. It also has a high boiling point which makes it very suitable to measure higher temperatures.
Is it bad to mix water and alcohol?
Scientists have used the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to study the electronic states of methanol, the simplest of the alcohols, both in and out of solution with water; they have shown that, at the molecular level, alcohol and water don’t completely mix.
When alcohol is mixed with water they will?
When you mix the rubbing alcohol with water, the latter’s molecules make hydrogen bonds with the water molecules. The alcohol dissolves in the water to form a homogenous solution, so you cannot distinguish the alcohol and the water anymore.
Which expands more alcohol or mercury?
Mercury has a greater coefficient of thermal expansion than alcohol. This means a column of mercury will expand and rise more than a column of alcohol for the same temperature change. As a result, you can get finer readings with mercury. However, clinical mercury thermometers are on the decline.
How accurate are alcohol thermometers?
Alcohol thermometers are also inexpensive and durable. They are typically not as accurate as mercury thermometers because of the alcohol’s susceptibility to evaporation, polymerization potential and capillary separation. Their primary advantage is safety to humans and the environment.
Does water make alcohol stronger?
“If you put an ounce of alcohol in a 12-ounce glass of water, the concentration will be lower than if you put an ounce of alcohol in an 8-ounce glass of water.”
Does water reduce alcohol content?
Food may help your body absorb alcohol. Water can help reduce your BAC, though it will still take one hour to metabolize 20 mg/dL of alcohol.
Why is alcohol good for an outdoor thermometer?
Alcohol remains liquid at lower temperatures, but also vaporizes at lower temperatures (compared to water), so it is suitable for thermometers that operate over a lower temperature range, such as outdoor thermometers. The coloring agent is added to make the alcohol visible.
Why are Mercury and alcohol used in thermometers?
Here you will come to know the reason why alcohol is used in Thermometers. In the above section we have seen that the Mercury thermometer measures the lower temperatures upto -38.8 °C. What if we want to measure the temperature below -38.8 °C ? We cannot use Mercury thermometer to measure such a low temperature, because Mercury freezes at -38.8 °C.
Why do you use water in a thermometer?
Look, water has a specific range of temperature for its freezing point and boiling point. Freezing point of water is 0 degree Celsius and the boiling point of water is 100 degree Celsius. So if we use water in the thermometer, then we won’t be able to measure the temperature lower than 0 degree celsius, as water freezes at these temperatures.
What’s the freezing point of water in a thermometer?
Freezing point of water is 0 degree Celsius and the boiling point of water is 100 degree Celsius. So if we use water in the thermometer, then we won’t be able to measure the temperature lower than 0 degree celsius, as water freezes at these temperatures.
Why use of alcohol is preferred over mercury in thermometers?
¤ Since alcohol is non toxic, alcohol thermometers are much safer to use than the mercury thermometers. ¤ Alcohol thermometers can be used to measure very low temperatures. Since mercury has a higher boiling point than alcohol, mercury thermometer can be used to measure high temperatures.
What are the advantages of using alcohol in a thermometer?
Advantages of Alcohol Thermometer It can measure low temperatures. It measures the temperature precisely. The expansion of alcohol is regular. It is less toxic and less hazardous.
Why are thermometers made with alcohol instead of water?
Answer. Most thermometers are filled with mercury, but some are filled with alcohol. The reason we use alcohol instead of water is that alcohol has a lower freezing point (-114°C) than water (0°C). Also, alcohol doesn’t condensate on the top unlike water, which makes the reading of the thermometer easier to read.
Why are mercury thermometers better than alcohol?
There is a technical reason for using mercury in clinical thermometers. Mercury has a greater coefficient of thermal expansion than alcohol. This means a column of mercury will expand and rise more than a column of alcohol for the same temperature change. As a result, you can get finer readings with mercury.