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They both have advantages and disadvantages:
A Mercury-in-glass thermometer can measure high temperature (up to 357 0C, the boiling point of mercury; and its freezing point is -39 0C).
An alcohol-in-glass thermometer can measure low temperature (down to -115 0C, the freezing point of alcohol; and its boiling point is 78 0C.)
A mercury-in-glass thermometer can quickly response to temperature, while an alcohol-in-glass thermometer can only slowly response to temperature.
However, mercury is poisonous and alcohol is NOT poisonous. Also mercury thermometers are not allowed on aircraft.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoThat would depend on what temperature range the thermometer would be used to measure.
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoAlcohol thermometers are a lot cheaper, they work fine and they do not depend on a deadly poison to work. Mercury is not very nice stuff especialy if it ends up in the body somehow.
Wiki User
∙ 15y agomercury is hoter than alcohol,and more cimicels
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoMercury is liquid at room temperature and therefore expands when heated and contracts when cooled. By being a metal, it makes it more accurate when measuring temperature.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoalcohol is more water soluble
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What are thermometers filled with besides mercury?
Most inexpensive thermometers are filled with a colored mix of alcohol and water, rather than mercury, which is hazardous and has become more expensive.
Why don't we use mercury thermometers?
Alcohol (brightly coloured to make it more visible in the tube) is a common alternative to the use of mercury in thermometers.
What do they use instead of mercury in thermometers?
There are a variety of cost-effective, mercury-free alternatives available at local pharmacies. These alternatives include digital, glass gallium-tin, and glass alcohol thermometers. Because of the health risks associated with mercury exposure from broken thermometer, it is very difficult any more to find glass mercury thermometers.
Is mercury denser than alcohol?
yes
Is a liquid metal used in barometers?
Science and industrial labs often use mercury filled barometers due to mercury's high density and low vapour pressure. This allows the barometers column of liquid to be less than 1 meter high (760 mm Hg=1 atmosphere). As an additional advantage the meniscus of the mercury is upwards at the center, unlike water, making accurate reading simpler. However mercury's toxic attributes make it hazardous if spilled, so mechanical diaphragm barometers are often used.
Compare the expansion of mercury with alcohol?
Mercury expands more evenly than alcohol. This is why thermometers that contain mercury are more accurate than those that contain alcohol. However, alcohol freezes at a temperature much lower than mercury, so it is better used in thermometers in extreme cold conditions.
Why alcohol used in laboratory thermometers instead of mercury?
mercury is toxic but alcohol is not and alcohol is cheaper than mercury
Why do many thermometers contain alcohol?
Many thermometers contain alcohol because it is less toxic than mercury. In addition to this, the contents of an alcohol thermometer can evaporate away quickly.
What are thermometers filled with besides mercury?
Most inexpensive thermometers are filled with a colored mix of alcohol and water, rather than mercury, which is hazardous and has become more expensive.
Why teachers prefer to use alcohol thermometers than mercury?
Mercury, especially the vapour, is not good for health. As school thermometers are often broken, having a spill of mercury in the classroom is something best avoided.
Why are ethanol thermometers better than mercury ones?
I don't know about better, but they can measure lower temperatures.
Why do thermometers have alcohol in them?
Alcohol can be used to measure temperature because it has a relatively wide range of temperatures at which it remains liquid, although not as wide as Mercury. However, alcohol is both less toxic and less expensive than mercury.
Why mountaineers carry alcohol thermometer with them rather than mercury thermometer?
mercury freezes at -39 and alcohol can be used under weather.
Why the mercury is the most used element in many thermometers?
Mercury is a liquid at room temperature and has a specific gravity which is higher than water and is not nearly as likely to vaporize as water or alcohol.
Why Mercury thermometer is used domestically and alcoholic thermometer in lab?
Alcoholic thermometers are more accurate than mercury thermometers
Why do schools generally use red alcohol thermometers and not mercury?
Alcohol also reacts to heat by expanding and contracting and is much safer to use than mercury which is a neurotoxin that can make you very sick if the thermometer were to break and you got in contact with it.
Who created the liquid in glass thermometer?
The two most common liquids used in glass thermometers are mercury and alcohol, both of which were created by M. Nature. Alcohol thermometers are, or were, used in extremely cold areas like the Yukon, where the temperature could be expected to drop lower than -40 in the winter (-40 is where mercury freezes, and it is also the only temperature that is exactly the same on both Fahrenheit and Celsius thermometers).
