| Experimenta circa gradum caloris liquorum nonnullorum ebullientium instituta | |
| 1724 |  |
| Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit(1686-1736) | |
|
Fahrenheit, a successful meteorological instrument maker, studied thermometry extensively with the intention of improving the thermometer. In 1714, he achieved a great innovation in the field with the use of mercury instead of alcohol, by which he was able to make precise measurements of temperature and determine temperatures that exceeded the boiling point of water as well as those under the freezing point. Using this new thermometer with accurate boiling and freezing pints of water Fahrenheit established an accurate system of thermometry which is still in use at present. In this paper Fahrenheit mentioned for the first time the construction of mercury thermometers, called attention to his discovery that other liquids besides water have constant boiling points, and gave those for several liquids indicated on his thermometer. Fahrenheit’s most important paper is a brief account of three fixed points he used in the construction of his thermometer, which are the techniques of boiling out and sealing thermometers, and the discovery of the super cooling of water. |
