Although thermometers have been used in clinical applications for half a century, their invention and development took nearly three centuries. The first thermometer was a straight, slender, graduated glass tube, closed at one end with a spherical bulb, and open at the other end, immersed in water. When the ambient temperature changed significantly, the water level in the glass tube also changed. However, because the water used in the experiment was exposed to the atmosphere, the rise and fall of the water column in the glass tube was affected not only by the temperature but also by atmospheric pressure, making it inaccurate. To solve this problem, alcohol was used instead of water, resulting in a thermometer unaffected by atmospheric pressure. This was first used by Professor Santorio, an Italian physician, to measure human body temperature. Ten years later, the Italian Academia replaced the alcohol with mercury to create another type of thermometer. Since then, this type of thermometer has been widely used in clinical diagnosis.
In 1867, Dr. Albert of London, England, improved the thermometer based on the characteristics and needs of human use, creating a thermometer specifically for measuring the body temperature of humans and animals. This marked the true birth of the thermometer, which has been used ever since. With the development of modern science and technology, thermometers have also undergone continuous upgrades.
In 1984, a medical device designer in Finland developed a more convenient and accurate electronic thermometer.
Given the pollution caused by mercury in traditional mercury thermometers, as well as their fragility, harmfulness to the human body, and long measurement time, many hospitals are now using electronic thermometers. This proves that the performance of electronic thermometers is very close to that of mercury thermometers. New smart electronic thermometers have significant advantages over traditional mercury thermometers in terms of stability, continuity, and measurement time, and their accuracy is comparable to that of traditional mercury thermometers.
