Mercury-in-glass thermometer Mercury-in-glass thermometer The mercury-in-glass or mercury thermometer was invented by physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in Amsterdam (1714). It consists of a bulb containing mercury attached to a glass tube of narrow diameter; the volume of mercury in the tube is much less than the volume in the bulb. The volume of mercury changes slightly with temperature; the small change in volume drives the narrow mercury column a relatively long way up the tube. The space above the mercury may be filled with nitrogen gas or it may be at less than atmospheric pressure, a partial vacuum. In order to calibrate
World's tallest thermometer the thermometer next to his Bun Boy restaurant. Its height -- 134 feet -- was in honor of the 134-degree record temperature set in nearby Death Valley on July 10, 1913. Soon after its construction, 70-mph winds snapped the thermometer in half, and it was rebuilt. Two years later, severe gusts made the thermometer sway so much that its light bulbs popped out. Concrete was then poured inside the steel core to reinforce the monument. Herron sold the attraction and restaurant to another local businessman, Larry Dabour, who sold it in 2005. In September 2012, the owner at that time,