History of the Thermometer

  • Galileo Thermoscope

    First instrument able to measure temperature changes. The container was full of bulbs that rose or fell depending on temperature.
  • Santorio Thermoscope

    First instrument to have numerical scale and measure a medical patient's temperature.
  • Ferdinand II Thermometer

    First enclosed thermometer using alcohol inside the glass to measure temperature. However didn't use a standardized scale and was still inaccurate.
  • Fahrenheit Thermometer

    Mercury thermometer with a standardized scale.
  • Fahrenheit Scale

    Introduced self named scale
  • Celcius Scale

    Based on water freezing at 0 degrees and boiling at 100 degrees
  • Kelvin Scale

    Measures extreme heat and cold