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black bulb thermometer
black bulb thermometer

black bulb thermometer

Datecirca 1900
Inventory Number1998-1-1251
ClassificationThermometer
Subject
    Maker Henry J. Green fl. 1885 - 1910
    User Oak Ridge Station 1931 - 2005
    Cultural Region
      Place of Origin
        Place of Use
          Dimensions43 x 6 x 19 cm (16 15/16 x 2 3/8 x 7 1/2 in.)
          Material
            DescriptionA thermometer consisting of a thin glass tube with a capillary that has a scale in Fahrenheit degrees (0-210). Its mercury bulb is painted completely black and is in the shape of a sphere at the end of a cylindrical stem. The whole thermometer is kept inside a clear glass vessel with a large spherical bulb surrounding the thermometer's mercury bulb such that it is exactly at its center.
            Signedon stem opposite scale: H.J. Green, Brooklyn, N.Y. 2455
            FunctionThis is a thermometer for determining the amount of heat radiation (infrared light) in the environment at a certain moment. Its mercury bulb is isolated from contact with the ambient temperature by an evacuated glass vessel, and it is painted completely black so it will absorb the maximum possible heat radiation.

            Heat radiation is an important meteorological reading as an indication of cloudiness and contributes to the subjective perception of ambient temperature in addition to the temperature of air.
            ProvenanceTransferred to CHSI, From the Agassiz Station, Harvard College Observatory, Harvard, Mass.
            black bulb thermometer
            Henry J. Green
            Date: 1890-1910
            Object number: 1998-1-1291
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            Object number: 1998-1-1250
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            Henry J. Green
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            Accessories: cardboard box
            Object number: 1998-1-1271b
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            Date: 1890-1910
            Accessories: cardboard box
            Object number: 1998-1-1271a
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            Object number: 1998-1-1255
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            Object number: 1998-1-1256
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            Date: 1890-1910
            Object number: 1998-1-0621