Do They Still Use Mercury In Thermometers?[a Above Ground Pool (floater) Thermometers]?
Or is it like the led in pencils was too dangerous so they switched to graphite.
Please explain your answer.
Or is it like the led in pencils was too dangerous so they switched to graphite.
Please explain your answer.
No, they no longer use mercury. Mercury is capable of causing illness and insanity. (That’s where the term madhatter comes from. They used to use Mercury to cure beaver skin top hats, but touching it drove them crazy…)
I can’t remember what they use in thermometers now, but hey, you didn’t ask that!
Mercury is rarely used in thermometers these days because of safety concerns. It certainly has been phased out in medical thermometers or thermometers that you would find in a home setting.
I teach college chemistry, and there’s been a big push over the last few years for us to get rid of our mercury containing instruments (primarily thermometers, but also some pressure gauges and other devices). While all of our typical student thermometers (that measure up to 110 degrees C) have been replaced with red alcohol thermometers, we have kept the higher temp mercury thermometers that go with our melting point apparatuses. Mercury thermometers for these types of devices are still sold, although more expensive digital thermometers that rely on non-mercury methods for determining temperature are also available.
I’d say that mercury thermometers have been widely phased out (particularly in home or medical use), but still are sold and see use for certain applications.