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XIX.—Thermometer Screens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2014

John Aitken
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Extract

It is now thirty-two years since I last brought this subject before the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Since then nothing has been done to remedy the imperfections which were then shown to characterise the thermometer screens used throughout the country. In some respects these imperfections may seem to be of small importance. Yet in these days when accuracy of measurement is being more and more insisted on, and particularly now when reconstruction is everywhere in vogue, it does seem desirable that apparatus largely used by thousands of observers should be as perfect as it is possible to make it.

Type
Proceedings
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 40 , 1921 , pp. 172 - 181
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1920

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References

page 172 note * Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xii, 1882–84; vol. xiii, 1884–86; vol. xiv, 1886–87Google Scholar.

page 172 note † The bulb is cylindrical, with a length of 25 mm. and a diameter of a little over 1 mm. It is provided with a sheath of pure silver which fits it closely. The readings of this instrument when simply placed under a sunshade were found to agree very closely with those given by shaded thermometers in a steady draught of air. It may be regarded as giving very nearly the true temperature of the air. See Proc. R.S.E., vol. xii, p. 688, 1882–84Google Scholar.

page 173 note * [Dr Aitken introduced the word “inertia” to mean the slowness of response of any body to a heating or cooling process. It depends on many factors, such as thermal capacity, absorption, radiation, conductivity, etc. I have taken the liberty of prefixing the word “thermal” in all case, so as to prevent confusion.—C. G. K.]

page 177 note * In the original notebook from which these observations are taken, the daily observations continue till November 8, six days before Dr Aitken's death.

page 179 note * Further work as planned was interrupted by Dr Aitken's death.