Why is mercury used instead of alcohol in the maximum thermometers?

Answer 1

Mercury has a high boiling point and can measure high temperatures.alcohol has a low freezing point and can measure measure very low temperatures.so to accurately measure very high and also very low temperatures both are used.

Answer 2

Bulb Thermometers The bulb thermometer is the common glass thermometer you probably grew up with. The thermometer contains some type of fluid, generally mercury. Bulb thermometers rely on the simple principle that a liquid changes its volume relative to its temperature. Liquids take up less space when they are cold and more space when they are warm (this same principal works for gases and is the basis of the hot air balloon) You probably work with liquids every day, but may not notice that things like water, milk and cooking oil all take up more or less space as their temperatures change. In these cases, the change in volume is fairly small. All bulb thermometers use a fairly large bulb and a narrow tube to accentuate the change in volume. .

Answer 3

alcohol tends to boil at temperatures around boiling, but stays liquid far below freezing.

that means it's good for cold temps, but not hot.

mercury, on the other hand, turns to a solid not very far below freezing, so it doesn't work well there.

it does stay liquid at pretty high temperatures though, which is why it's used in hot applications.

Answer 4

Mercury is used instead of alcohol in maximum thermometers because mercury has a lower freezing point, providing more reliable readings in colder temperatures. Additionally, mercury has a more linear expansion rate with temperature changes, making it more accurate for measuring high temperatures.