How did Santorio Santorio's instrument from around 1636 improve upon Galileo's earlier air-based thermoscope?
Answer
He created a sealed device utilizing liquid, likely alcohol, instead of relying solely on air
Santorio Santorio made a significant refinement by moving away from the simple expansion and contraction of air, which was susceptible to atmospheric pressure variations. He devised a sealed instrument that incorporated a liquid, specified as likely being alcohol, within the apparatus. The use of a sealed liquid allowed for a more stable and somewhat quantitative indication of temperature compared to the purely air-based system. Despite this improvement, these early liquid instruments still suffered from a major drawback: they lacked standardized scales, meaning readings were relative to the specific device and could not be universally compared.
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