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The Mercury in the bulb at the bottom of the thermometer expands or contracts depending on the amount of heat (the temperature). The narrow calibrated tube that you read the temperature on acts to amplify this effect. The calibration is usually either in Fahrenheit or Celsius.

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16y ago

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Why mercury go down and up suddenly in a thermometer?

Depending on Atmospheric Pressure


What makes mercury in a thermometer go up and down?

Change in temperature is what cause the Mercury to expand up (hotter) or shrink down (colder).


What makes mercury go up and down a thermometer?

the heat and temperature that causes it to rise and fall.


Why doesn't the mercury on a medical thermometer go down when it's removed from the body?

The mercury on a medical thermometer does not go down when removed from the body because the mercury expands to a certain level when it comes in contact with body heat, and even after it's removed, it does not contract back immediately. The thermometer needs to be shaken or reset for the mercury to go back down to its starting point.


Why do you use mercury thermometer?

As tempertature rises, the Mercury in the thermometer expands, causing it to go up. As temperature decreases, the mercury in the thermometer contracts, causing it to go down on the scale. However, mercury thermometers are very dangerous if it breakes and gets on your skin. so it it reccomended to use an electric thermometer. these thermometers use thermoelectric current to measure temperature. ergo. they are safe if they break cheers <3 -Eli


What causes liquid in thermometer to travel up and down in tube?

Heat causes Mercury in the thermometer to expand, where as when it is cooled, it contracts.


Why does the mercury in the thermometer go up when the temperature is high?

In a mercury thermometer, the mercury expands when it is heated, causing it to rise in the thermometer's narrow tube. This increase in volume is a physical property of mercury known as thermal expansion. The height of the mercury column in the thermometer is then used to measure the temperature.


What is the diffrerence between digital thermometer and mercury thermometer?

A digital thermometer uses electronic sensors to measure temperature and displays the reading digitally, while a mercury thermometer uses a column of mercury to measure temperature and has a calibrated scale to indicate the temperature. Digital thermometers are often faster and more accurate than mercury thermometers, and are also safer since they do not contain mercury.


Is thermometer a type of manometer?

Not quite; This is what the first source said about how a thermometer works; This liquid is sometimes colored alcohol but can also be a metallic liquid called mercury. Both mercury and alcohol grow bigger when heated and smaller when cooled. Inside the glass tube of a thermometer, the liquid has no place to go but up when the temperature is hot and down when the temperature is cold. In other words, the thermometer goes up or down due to the expansion of the alcohol or mercury due to the heat. After reviewing the second source, you will see that the columns go up and down due to the atmospheric pressure. If it goes up and down due to atmospheric pressure it is a manometer. A manometer does not work if it is not exposed to the atmosphere. A thermometer is sealed off to the outside. This is another reason why a thermometer is different from a manometer.


What causes mercury in a thermometer to rise?

The mercury in a thermometer rises because of thermal expansion. When the temperature surrounding the thermometer increases, the molecules of the mercury expand, causing it to move up the narrow tube of the thermometer.


Why does Mercury in the the thermometer rise?

Mercury rises in a thermometer when the temperature increases because mercury expands as it heats up. This expansion of the mercury column inside the thermometer is used to measure the temperature of the surrounding environment.


Why clinical thermometer is jerked before using it again?

If you have an old thermometer that has mercury, then the shaking makes all of the mercury flow to the bottom of the thermometer. Then, you can get a better reading. The current digital ones work differently. Thermometers used for taking people temperatures are a special kind that go up with heat but don't go down with cold. So you have to shake a thermometer before taking your temperature to make the reading go down below your own temperature. Then the thermometer can go up again to read your temperature.