A History of the Thermometer and Its Use in Meteorology

by W. E. Knowles Middleton

Overview

This history of the thermometer includes controversy about its invention, the story of different scales, Fahrenheit and centigrade, and the history of the gradual scientific then popular understanding of the concept of temperature. Not until 1800 did people interested in thermometers begin to see clearly what they were measuring, and the impetus for improving thermometry came largely from study of the weather—the liquid-in-glass thermometer became the meteorologist's instrument before that of the chemist or physicist. This excellent introductory study follows the development of indicating and recording thermometers until recent times, emphasizing meteorological applications.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801871535
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	01/01/2003
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	262
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

W. E. Knowles Middleton, 1902–1988, wrote 15 books and 75 to 100 scientific papers related to the science of weather instruments and meteorological optics as well as their history. His major contribution was the book Meteorological Instruments, first published in 1953. From 1929–1946, he worked for the Meteorological Service of Canada, specializing on measurement and instrumentation. After retiring, he was a professor emeritus and honourary lecturer associated with the Department of History of Medicine and Science at the University of British Columbia.

Editorial Reviews

Many people will welcome and accept the verdicts of the foremost modern historian of meteorological instruments . . . His research sheds new light on many old arguments, and some conclusions differ so much from classic accounts that countless textbooks and reference works may need revision.
—Science

This book traces in detail the invention and evolution of the thermometer . . . Fully documented, well written, and handsomely designed and illustrated . . . The book will be of interest to laymen and is a standard reference work for historians of science.
—Library Journal

From the Publisher

Many people will welcome and accept the verdicts of the foremost modern historian of meteorological instruments . . . His research sheds new light on many old arguments, and some conclusions differ so much from classic accounts that countless textbooks and reference works may need revision.

Science

"Many people will welcome and accept the verdicts of the foremost modern historian of meteorological instruments... His research sheds new light on many old arguments, and some conclusions differ so much from classic accounts that countless textbooks and reference works may need revision."

Science