Temperature (sometimes called thermodynamic

temperature) is a measure of how hot or cold something

is: specifically, a measure of the average kinetic energy of the
particles in a system. While there is no maximum
theoretically reachable temperature, there is a minimum
temperature, known as absolute zero, at which all molecular
motion stops. Temperature is by far the most measured
parameter. It impacts the physical, chemical and biological
world in numerous ways.
 All matter is made of particles - atoms or molecules - that
are in constant motion. Because the particles are in motion,
they have kinetic energy. The faster the particles are moving,
the more kinetic energy they have. The more kinetic energy
the particles of an object have, the higher is the temperature
of the object. The higher the temperature, the faster the
molecules of the substance move, on the average.
History about Temperature
1592 - Galileo Galilei invented the liquid-in-glass thermometer.
1643 - Athanasius Kircher invented the first mercury
thermometer.
1714 - Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented both the mercury and
the alcohol thermometer with Fahrenheit scale (1724).
1742 - Anders Celsius proposed a centigrade scale
1800’s - William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) postulated the
existence of an absolute zero.
1821 - Thomas Seebeck discovered the principle behind the
thermocouple the existence of the thermoelectric current.
1821 - Sir Humphry Davy noted the temperature dependence of
metals.
1932 - C.H. Meyers built the first Resistance Temperature
Detector (RTD).
1948 – the name centigrade scale was change to Celsius
20th century - The development of temperature sensors fully
developed.
 Temperature measurement, also known as thermometry,
describes the process of measuring a current local
temperature for immediate or later evaluation. Temperature
measurement can be classified into a few general categories:
a) Thermometers
b) Probes
c) Non-contact
International Practical Temperature Scale
The International Practical Temperature Scale is the basis
of most present-day temperature measurements. The scale
was established by an international commission in 1948 with
a text revision in 1960. A revision of the scale was formally
adopted in 1990 and still being used today.
Nonelectric Temperature Sensors
 Liquid-in-Glass Thermometers
Most versions have used mercury as the liquid. The element
mercury is liquid in the temperature range of about −40 to 700°F
(−38.9 to 356.7°C). As a liquid, mercury expands as it gets warmer; its
expansion rate is linear. Because of mercury’s toxicity and the strict
governing laws, the use of the mercury-in-glass thermometer has
declined.
 Bimetallic Thermometers
Bonding two dissimilar metals with different coefficients
of expansion produces a bimetallic element. These are used in
bimetallic thermometers, temperature switches, and
thermostats having a range of 100 to 1000°F (−73 to 537°C).
Solids tend to expand when heated. The amount that a
solid sample will expand with increased temperature depends
on the size of the sample, the material it is made of, and the
amount of temperature rise.
 One way to amplify the motion resulting from thermal
expansion is to bond two strips of dissimilar metals together,
such as copper and iron. If we were to take two equally-sized
strips of copper and iron, lay them side-by-side, and then
heat both of them to a higher temperature, we would see the
copper strip lengthen slightly more than the iron strip:
 If we bond these two strips of metal together, this
differential growth will result in a bending motion that
greatly exceeds the linear expansion. This device is called a bi-
metal strip:
 This bending motion is
significant enough to drive a pointer
mechanism, activate an
electromechanical switch, or perform
any number of other mechanical
tasks, making this a very simple and
useful primary sensing element for
temperature.
Filled-bulb Systems
Filled system thermometers have been used for decades. They
have a useful range of -125°F to 1200°F.
Filled-bulb systems exploit the principle of fluid expansion
to measure temperature. If a fluid is enclosed in a sealed system
and then heated, the molecules in that fluid will exert a greater
pressure on the walls of the enclosing vessel. By measuring this
pressure, and/or by allowing the fluid to expand under constant
pressure, we may infer the temperature of the fluid.
 There are basically four types of filled bulb temperature
sensors in use in industrial applications They are:
 Liquid Filled Systems Temperature Sensors
(Class I)
Class I systems use a liquid fill fluid.
Here, the volumetric expansion of the liquid
drives an indicating mechanism to show
temperature as shown. The steel bulb, stem
and indicator are completely filled under
pressure with a liquid. The system is totally
filled to provide a constant volume.
Expansion of the fluid in the tube is converted
to pressure. This pressure expands the
Bourdon tube which moves the pointer on the
scale. The filling fluid is usually an inert
hydrocarbon, such as xylene.
 Vapor Filled Systems Temperature
Sensors (Class II)
The vapor filled system uses a
volatile liquid/vapor combination to
generate a temperature dependent
fluid expansion. This form of
measurement is based on the vapor-
pressure curves of the fluid and
measurement occurs at the transition
between the liquid and vapor phases.
 This transition occurs in the bulb,
and will move slightly with
temperature, but it is the pressure
that is affected and causes the
measurement. If the temperature is
raised, more liquid will vaporize and
the pressure will increase. A decrease
in temperature will result in
condensation of some of the vapor,
and the pressure will decrease.
 Gas Filled Systems Temperature
Sensors (Class III)
Here, the change in pressure
with the temperature allows us to
sense the bulb’s temperature. As the
volume is kept constant, the pressure
varies in direct proportion to the
absolute temperature
 Gas filled systems do provide a
faster response than other filled
devices, and as it converts
temperature directly into pressure it
is particularly useful in pneumatic
systems. Nitrogen is quite
commonly used with gas filled
systems.
 Mercury Filled Systems
Temperature Sensors (Class V)
Mercury expansion systems are
different from other liquid filled
systems because of the properties of the
metal. Mercury is toxic and can affect
some industrial processes and is used
less in filled system. Mercury filled
system provides the widest range of
operation (-40 °C to 650°C)
Bistate/Phase Change Sensors
These low cost nonelectric sensors are made from heat-
sensitive fusible crystalline solids that change decisively from
a solid to a liquid with a different color at a fixed temperature
depending on the blend of ingredients. They are available as
crayons, lacquers, pellets, or labels over a wide range of
temperatures from 100 to 3000°F (38 to 1650°C).
 All these devices undergo a change in color or appearance
depending upon the temperature variations. “They are used, for
instance, with steam traps – when a trap exceeds a certain
temperature, a white dot on a sensor label attached to the trap
will turn black. Response time typically takes minutes, so these
devices often do not respond to transient temperature changes.”
The major uses are where a quick check of the temperature of an
object is desired, or, in the case of the temperature labels or
stickers, a record of whether the object has exceeded a certain
temperature.
Electronic Thermometers/Sensors
 Thermocouples
A thermocouple is an assembly of two wires of unlike metals
joined at one end designated the hot end. At the other end, referred to
as the cold junction, the open circuit voltage is measured. Called the
Seebeck voltage, this voltage (electromotive force) depends on the
difference in temperature between the hot and the cold junction and
the Seebeck coefficient of the two metals.
 1.) Peltier Effect- If the junctions of a thermocouple are at
the same temperature and a current is passed through the
circuit of the thermocouple, HEAT is produced at one
junction and ABSORBED at the other.
 2. ) Thompson Effect- The absorption or evolution of heat
when current is passed through an unequally heated
conductor.
 3) Seebeck Effect - When two dissimilar metals with
different temperatures and they’re touching, they produce an
emf or voltage.
 When two dissimilar metal wires are joined together at
one end, a voltage is produced at the other end that is
approximately proportional to temperature. That is to say,
the junction of two different metals behaves like a
temperature-sensitive battery.
 This phenomenon provides us with a simple and direct
way to electrically infer temperature: simply measure the
voltage produced by the junction, and you can tell the
temperature of that junction.
Three Laws that Apply to Thermocouples
 Law of Intermediate Metals
This law is interpreted to mean that the addition of different
metals to a circuit will not affect the voltage the circuit creates. The
added junctions are to be at the same temperature as the
junctions in the circuit. For example, a third metal such as copper
leads may be added to help take a measurement. This is why
thermocouples may be used with digital multi-meters or other
electrical components. It is also why solder may be used to join
metals to form thermocouples.
Law of Homogenous Materials
This law states that a thermocouple circuit that is made
with a homogeneous wire cannot generate an emf, even if it is
at different temperatures and thicknesses throughout. In
other words, a thermocouple must be made from at least two
different materials in order to generate a voltage. A change in
the area of the cross section of a wire, or a change in the
temperature in different places in the wire, will not produce a
voltage.
Law of Intermediate Temperature
This law allows a thermocouple that is calibrated with a
reference temperature to be used with another reference
temperature. It also allows extra wires with the same
thermoelectric characteristics to be added to the circuit
without affecting its total emf.
Thermocouple Types
Thermocouples exist in many different types, each with
its own color codes for the dissimilar-metal wires.
 Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD)
A Resistance Temperature Detector or simply RTD is a
temperature sensor which measures temperature using the
principle that the resistance of a metal changes with
temperature. For most metals the change in electrical
resistance is directly proportional to its change in temperature
and is linear over a range of temperatures. This constant
factor called the temperature coefficient of electrical resistance
is the basis of RTDs.
 RTDs work on a basic correlation
between metals and temperature. As the
temperature of a metal increases, the metal's
resistance to the flow of electricity increases.
Similarly, as the temperature of the RTD
resistance element increases, the electrical
resistance, measured in ohms (Ω), increases.
RTD elements are commonly specified
according to their resistance in ohms at zero
degrees Celsius (0° C). The most common
RTD specification is 100 Ω, which means that
at 0° C the RTD element should demonstrate
100 Ω of resistance.
 Thermistors
Like the RTD, the thermistor is also a resistive device
that changes its resistance predictably with temperature. Its
benefit is a very large change in resistance per degree change
in temperature, allowing very sensitive measurements over
narrow spans. Due to its very large resistance, lead wire errors
are not significant.
Difference between RTDs and Thermistors
Thermistors are devices made of metal oxide which either
increase in resistance with increasing temperature (a positive
temperature coefficient) or decrease in resistance with increasing
temperature (a negative temperature coefficient). RTDs are
devices made of pure metal (usually platinum or copper) which
always increase in resistance with increasing temperature. The
major difference between thermistors and RTDs is linearity:
thermistors are highly sensitive and nonlinear, whereas RTDs are
relatively insensitive but very linear.
 Pyrometers
Pyrometers also called as Radiation Thermometers was
invented by Josiah Wedgwood. They are non-contact
temperature sensors that measure temperature from the
amount of thermal electromagnetic radiation received from a
spot on the object of measurement. Pyrometers are mainly
divided to two types:
a.) Radiation Pyrometers
b.) Optical Pyrometers
 Pyrometers are used to measure the temperature which
is difficult to measure. They are non-contact devices, used to
measure temperature above 1500 degree Celsius, contact
devices may melt at this temperature.
 Radiation Pyrometers
A radiation pyrometer also referred as infrared (IR)
thermometer is a noncontact radiant energy detector. Every
object in the world radiates IR energy. The amount of radiant
energy emitted is proportional to the temperature of an
object. Noncontact thermometers measure the intensity of the
radiant energy and produce a signal proportional to the
target temperature. The physics behind this broadcasting of
energy is called Planck’s Law of Thermal Radiation.
 As shown in the figure, the radiation
pyrometer has an optical system,
including a lens, a mirror and an
adjustable eye piece. The heat energy
emitted from the hot body is passed on to
the optical lens, which collects it and is
focused on to the detector with the help of
the mirror and eye piece arrangement.
The detector may either be a thermistor or
photomultiplier tubes. Thus, the heat
energy is converted to its corresponding
electrical signal by the detector and is sent
to the output temperature display device.
 Optical Pyrometer
Optical Pyrometers work on the basic principle of using
human eye to match the brightness of the hot object to the
brightness of the calibrated lamp filament inside the instrument.
In an optical pyrometer, a brightness comparison is made to
measure the temperature. As a measure of the reference
temperature, a color change with the growth in temperature is
taken. The device compares the brightness produced by the
radiation of the object whose temperature is to be measured, with
that of a reference temperature. The reference temperature is
produced by a lamp whose brightness can be adjusted till its
intensity becomes equal to the brightness of the source object. The
radiation
 The radiation from the source is
emitted and the optical objective lens
captures it. The lens helps in focusing the
thermal radiation on to the reference bulb.
The observer watches the process through
the eye piece and corrects it in such a
manner that the reference lamp filament
has a sharp focus and the filament is super-
imposed on the temperature source image.
The observer starts changing the rheostat
values and the current in the reference
lamp changes. This in turn, changes its
intensity.
 This change in current can be observed
in three different ways.
1. The filament is dark. That is, cooler than the
temperature source.
2. Filament is bright. That is, hotter than the
temperature source.
3. Filament disappears. Thus, there is equal
brightness between the filament and
temperature source. At this time, the current
that flows in the reference lamp is measured,
as its value is a measure of the temperature
of the radiated light in the temperature
source, when calibrated.