How to Make a Weather Thermometer
Making a weather thermometer can be simple. Dictionary.com defines a thermometer as an "instrument for measuring temperature, especially one having a graduated glass tube with a bulb containing a liquid, typically mercury or colored alcohol." Inventing of the weather thermometer is attributed to Galileo Galilei in the sixteenth century. As liquid heats up, it expands, causing it to move up in the thermometer; as it cools the liquid will contract and thus move down the thermometer. The weather thermometer described below operates under this principle and can be made using household materials.
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Things You'll Need
- Drill or corkscrew
- Straw
- Wine bottle
- Tap water
- Rubbing alcohol
- Food coloring
- Candle wax or modeling clay
Instructions
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1
Use the drill or corkscrew to put a hole in the cork equal to the diameter of the straw.
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2
Place the straw through the cork so it hovers just above the bottom and sticks up about an inch above the cork. Seal around the outside of the straw where it protrudes from the cork, either by dripping candle wax around the outer edge or using modeling clay.
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3
Fill the bottle about one-quarter full with equal parts water and rubbing alcohol. The water/alcohol mixture makes your thermometer more sensitive to temperature changes than an all-water thermometer.
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4
Pour about 3 drops of food coloring into your mixture. This will make your thermometer easier to read.
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5
Put the cork back in the bottle, making sure you have an airtight seal. If necessary, place more candle wax or modeling clay around the edge top of the bottle to ensure the seal remains tight.
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6
Use a manufactured thermometer to compare temperature changes with the change in height of your column of fluid in the straw. This way, you can develop a gauge to more accurately determine temperature change intervals.
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Tips & Warnings
Test the thermometer by holding your hands tightly around the bottle. The fluid should rise in the straw as it warms. Placing the bottle in a refrigerator should cause a relatively rapid drop in fluid level.
Do not use the bottle for drinking out of after rubbing alcohol has been poured into it!
