Storage container for digital thermometer
Date1980s
Object number00055789
NameContainer
MediumWood
DimensionsOverall (closed): 394 × 46 × 46 mm, 113 g
Copyright© CSIRO
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift of CSIRO
DescriptionA wooden cylindrical storage container for a digital reversing thermometer.HistoryThe reversing thermometer was invented in 1874 by Negretti and Zambra, London. Until the 1980s these thermometers, also called mercury-in-glass thermometers, were the traditional method for measuring undersea temperatures. Digital thermometry has nearly replaced this method with the development of thermistors. However, mercury thermometers were crucial to oceanographic data sets before more accurate CTDs were invented and widely used.
SignificanceEven with technological advancement over time, the mercury-in-glass thermometers are still important as they provide a standard temperature measurement to test against electronic versions. All forms of new sensors use the reversing thermometers as a calibration standard to compare and evaluate performance. Some oceanographers still prefer this original method, believing it provides more reliable data even with the post-collection corrections needing to be made.
late 19th Century
1940-2000
