Temperature studies began at the end of the sixteenth century, but they took a turn when, with the affirmation of the Galilean method, the realization of instruments happened that allowed scientists to transform from qualitative to quantitative their researches. In meteorology, scholars thus had an objective means of assessing the thermal state of the atmosphere by giving a new meaning to their observations. The first instruments carried out were essentially qualitative such as the thermoscope of G. Galilei (1597) and those of S. Santorio (1611) which were also used in medicine. In the sphere of the Galilean school, alcohol-in-glass thermometers were designed with various thermometric scales up to the definitive version (1646) with a fifty-degree scale which was reproduced in numerous copies, for almost a century, spreading throughout Europe. These thermometers were used in the first network for meteorological observations (1654-1665). In 1688, E. Halley proposed to use mercury as a thermometric liquid to overcome some defects of the alcohol thermometers. In the first half of the eighteenth century, to put order among the numerous thermometric scales, some scales were proposed (Fahrenheit, Celsius) that had as fixed points those of freezing and boiling of distilled water, at standard pressure. After 1750, recording thermometers were built that could memorize only a few measured values (Cavendish, Six-Bellani), which were followed by devices capable of detecting the temperature trend "continuously". Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries "metallic thermometers" were proposed which took advantage of the variations in volume that a solid metal undergoes as the temperature changes. In the nineteenth century electrical recording and the use of telegraphs favored the development of thermometers, as well as other meteorological instruments and measurement systems, which began to be built according to internationally established standards. In the seventies of the twentieth century a change happened in the structure of the thermometers with the passage from electromechanical ones with analogical recording of data to electronic ones with digital recording.
Gli studi sulla temperatura, iniziati alla fine del Cinquecento, ebbero una svolta quando, con l'affermarsi del metodo galileiano, avvenne la realizzazione di strumenti che permettevano agli scienziati di trasformare le loro indagini da qualitative a quantitative. In meteorologia gli studiosi ebbero così un mezzo oggettivo per valutare lo stato termico dell'atmosfera dando un nuovo significato alle loro osservazioni. I primi strumenti realizzati furono essenzialmente qualitativi come il termoscopio di Galilei (1597) e quelli di Santorio (1611) che ebbero impiego anche in medicina. Nell'ambito della scuola galileiana furono progettati termometri ad alcol di vino con varie scale termometriche fino ad arrivare (1646) alla versione definitiva dotati di scala cinquantigrada che fu riprodotto in numerosi esemplari, per quasi un secolo, diffondendosi in tutta Europa. Tali termometri furono impiegati nella prima rete per le osservazioni meteorologiche (1654-1665). Per superare alcuni difetti di questi strumenti Halley propose di usare il mercurio come liquido termometrico. Nella prima metà del Settecento per mettere ordine fra le numerose scale termometriche ne furono proposte alcune (Fahrenheit, Reamur, Celsius) aventi come punti fissi quelli di congelamento e di ebollizione dell'acqua distillata, alla pressione standard. Dopo il 1750 furono realizzati termometri registratori capaci di memorizzare solo alcuni valori misurati (Cavendish, Six-Bellani), a cui seguirono apparati in grado di rilevare "ininterrottamente" l'andamento temporale della temperatura. Fra XVIII e XIX secolo furono proposti "termometri metallici" che sfruttavano le variazioni di volume che subisce un metallo solido al mutare della temperatura. Nell'Ottocento la registrazione elettrica e l'uso del telegrafo favorirono lo sviluppo dei termometri, come degli altri strumenti e sistemi di misura meteorologici, che iniziarono ad essere realizzati secondo standard fissati internazionalmente. Con gli anni Settanta del Novecento si assiste a un cambiamento della struttura dei termometri col passaggio da quelli elettromeccanici con registrazione analogica dei dati a quelli elettronici con registrazione digitale.
Storia del termometro per le misure ambientali: dai termoscopi ai sensori elettronici
Matteo De Vincenzi;Gianni Fasano
2020
Abstract
Temperature studies began at the end of the sixteenth century, but they took a turn when, with the affirmation of the Galilean method, the realization of instruments happened that allowed scientists to transform from qualitative to quantitative their researches. In meteorology, scholars thus had an objective means of assessing the thermal state of the atmosphere by giving a new meaning to their observations. The first instruments carried out were essentially qualitative such as the thermoscope of G. Galilei (1597) and those of S. Santorio (1611) which were also used in medicine. In the sphere of the Galilean school, alcohol-in-glass thermometers were designed with various thermometric scales up to the definitive version (1646) with a fifty-degree scale which was reproduced in numerous copies, for almost a century, spreading throughout Europe. These thermometers were used in the first network for meteorological observations (1654-1665). In 1688, E. Halley proposed to use mercury as a thermometric liquid to overcome some defects of the alcohol thermometers. In the first half of the eighteenth century, to put order among the numerous thermometric scales, some scales were proposed (Fahrenheit, Celsius) that had as fixed points those of freezing and boiling of distilled water, at standard pressure. After 1750, recording thermometers were built that could memorize only a few measured values (Cavendish, Six-Bellani), which were followed by devices capable of detecting the temperature trend "continuously". Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries "metallic thermometers" were proposed which took advantage of the variations in volume that a solid metal undergoes as the temperature changes. In the nineteenth century electrical recording and the use of telegraphs favored the development of thermometers, as well as other meteorological instruments and measurement systems, which began to be built according to internationally established standards. In the seventies of the twentieth century a change happened in the structure of the thermometers with the passage from electromechanical ones with analogical recording of data to electronic ones with digital recording.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
