Alcohol thermometer to give a background for reading the scale. The range of usefulness of the thermometer is set by the boiling point of the liquid used. In the case of the ethanol-filled thermometer, the upper limit for measurement is 78 °C (172.4 °F), which makes it useful for measuring daytime, nighttime and body temperatures, although not for anything much hotter than these. Ethanol-filled thermometers are used in preference to mercury for meteorological measurements of minimum temperatures and can be used down to −70 °C (-94 °F). The physical limitation of the ability of a thermometer to measure low temperature is the
Gas thermometer Gas thermometer A gas thermometer measures temperature by the variation in volume or pressure of a gas. This thermometer functions by Charles's Law. Charles's Law states that when the temperature of a gas increases, so does the volume. Using Charles's Law, the temperature can be measured by knowing the volume of gas at a certain temperature by using the formula, written below. Translating it to the correct levels of the device that is holding the gas. This works on the same principle as mercury thermometers. or T is the temperature. V is the volume. k is the constant for the