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Key problems in early wine-spirit thermometers and the “true Réaumur” thermometer

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  • Dario Camuffo

    (National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate)

Abstract

The main problems of early wine-spirit thermometers, with special reference to the eighteenth century, are considered with a holistic approach based on historical sources, physical mechanisms, and mathematical relationships. Thermometers were hardly comparable and were vulnerable at extreme temperatures, including calibration. Wine-spirit and the vapor pressure exerted at different temperatures, especially in proximity of the boiling points of spirit and water, are analyzed, because they caused the failure of glass tubes. The method suggested by Réaumur of completely removing air from the tube when it was sealed and the opposite one by Micheli du Crest of leaving some air inside are discussed, as well as advantages and disadvantages of using wine-spirit at different mole fractions of ethyl alcohol and water. The original, so-called “true Réaumur” thermometer, its calibration, scale, and response are investigated. The equations that evaluate the deviation from linearity for various factors are derived. Equations are given to convert readings taken with the “true Réaumur” and other early thermometers to Celsius, and at the same time correcting them from the departures due to wine-spirit and the particular calibration. Finally, the direct Celsius scale has been found to be known earlier than believed, in 1740.

Suggested Citation

  • Dario Camuffo, 2020. "Key problems in early wine-spirit thermometers and the “true Réaumur” thermometer," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 1083-1102, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:163:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s10584-020-02910-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-020-02910-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dario Camuffo & Antonio della Valle & Chiara Bertolin & Elena Santorelli, 2017. "Temperature observations in Bologna, Italy, from 1715 to 1815: a comparison with other contemporary series and an overview of three centuries of changing climate," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 7-22, May.
    2. Dario Camuffo & Chiara Bertolin, 2012. "The earliest temperature observations in the world: the Medici Network (1654–1670)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 335-363, March.
    3. Dario Camuffo & Antonio della Valle, 2016. "A summer temperature bias in early alcohol thermometers," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 633-640, October.
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    1. Dario Camuffo & Francesca Becherini & Antonio Valle, 2021. "Daily temperature observations in Florence at the mid-eighteenth century: the Martini series (1756–1775)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 1-19, February.

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