J. & H. J. Green Minimum Thermometer
J. & H. J. Green Minimum Thermometer
Previous
Next
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- This is an alcohol-in-glass Rutherford-type thermometer. The back of the stem is milk glass. The clear front is marked "J. & H. J. Green. N.Y." and "Signal Service U.S. Army No. 14" and graduated every degree Fahrenheit from -90 to +135. It was made between 1879 and 1885 (when James Green worked in partnership with his nephew Henry).
- John Rutherford, a Scottish country doctor, devised this form in 1790. Green stated in 1900 that it was "the only one in general use." It has a black index inside the tube. "On a decrease of temperature the alcohol recedes, taking with it the glass index; on an increase of temperature the alcohol alone ascends the tube, leaving the end of the index farthest from the bulb indicating the minimum temperature."
- Ref.: Henry J. Green, Meteorological and Scientific Instruments (Brooklyn, 1900), p. 23.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- thermometer
- date made
- 1879-1885
- maker
- J. & H. J. Green
- place made
- United States: New York, New York City
- Measurements
- overall: 12 in; 30.48 cm
- overall: 12 in x 5/8 in; 30.48 cm x 1.5875 cm
- ID Number
- PH.317467
- accession number
- 230396
- catalog number
- 317467
- Credit Line
- U.S. Weather Bureau
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
- Measuring & Mapping
- Thermometers and Hygrometers
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
