Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on Thermometer Calibration, [ca. 21–22 January 1820]

Notes on Thermometer Calibration

[ca. 21–22 Jan. 1820]

mercury zero correctd		Metallic
30	.
29	.
28	.
27	.
26
25
24
23
22	.
21
20
19
18		18¾
17	.
16	.	17¼ 17.
15		16¼
14		15.¼
13		15. 15. 15¼ 14½
12
11		13. 13⅓
10		12
9		11
8		11. 10
7		9. 9¼
6		9. 9¾ 8¾. 9. 9½
5		8. 8
4		7. 7.
3		6¼. 7.
2		5. 5½ 5½ 5½ 6
1		4¾
0		4¼. 4.
1		+3. +2
2		+2. 1½ +2.
3		+1. 1.
4		1¼
5		− ½ ¾
6		1½
7
8		3¼.
9
10
11
12
13
14

Reaumur1 the 0. correctd mercury		do metallic
1820.
Jan. 21
−	3½	+½
	+1	+4¾.
22.	+1½	+5

MS (MHi); on verso of reused address cover of David Watson to TJ, 26 Feb. 1819; filed with TJ’s Weather Memorandum Book, 1802–16; entirely in TJ’s hand; undated.

A metallic or bimetallic thermometer “indicates temperature by differential expansion and contraction of composite metal bars” (OED description begins James A. H. Murray, J. A. Simpson, E. S. C. Weiner, and others, eds., The Oxford English Dictionary, 2d ed., 1989, 20 vols. description ends ).

1. Text from this word on is at bottom of page and oriented upside down with relation to preceding table.

Index Entries

Jefferson, Thomas; Writings; Notes on Thermometer Calibration search
meteorological observations; by TJ search
scientific instruments; thermometers search
thermometers; calibration of search
thermometers; TJ uses search

You Are Looking At

Source Project: Jefferson Papers
Title: Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on Thermometer Calibration, [ca. 21–22 January 1820]
Author: Jefferson, Thomas
Date: 21 January 1820

Reference

Cite as: “Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on Thermometer Calibration, [ca. 21–22 January 1820],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-15-02-0314. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 15, 1 September 1819 to 31 May 1820, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018, pp. 343–344.]