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A 19th Century Metallic Thermometer. This metallic thermometer is one of the first instruments of its kind invented for measuring temperature. Made in France in 1850 and signed by Regnier’s Civil Engineering Company. This is a wall thermometer 54 cm (21 ¼ inch) high, made of a brass cylinder with an internal zinc rod. When temperature changes, these two metals expand or contract at different rates and are made to move a lever and a hand around a graduated dial marked in degrees on a Celsius scale. Only the dial has been polished whereas the cylinder and frame maintain the original patina. The dial covered with thick beveled glass with engravings of high and low temperature records in several cities during the period 1709 – 1788. A similar instrument used by Prof. Volta is displayed in the museum of Physics Instruments at the Pavia University, Italy. Edme Regnier (1751 –1825) the founder of the Company was a famous Parisian engineer, a prolific inventor that was awarded the ‘Legion d’Honneur’ in 1815. |
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