Before the advent of the thermo-couple, methods of temperature measurement were very crude. The blacksmith depended on his eyes to tell him when the proper temperature was reached, and of course the "color" appeared different on light or dark days. "Cherry" to one man was "orange" to another, and it was therefore almost impossible to formulate any treatment which could be applied by several men to secure the same results.
One of the early methods of measuring temperatures was the "iron ball" method. In this method, an iron ball, to which a wire was attached, was placed in the furnace and when it had reached the temperature of the furnace, it was quickly removed by means of the wire, and suspended in a can containing a known quantity of water; the volume of water being such that the heat would not cause it to boil. The rise in temperature of the water was measured by a thermometer, and, knowing the heat capacity of the iron ball and that of the water, the temperature of the ball, and therefore the furnace, could be calculated. Usually a set of tables was prepared to simplify the calculations. The iron ball, however, scaled, and changed in weight with repeated use, making the determinations less and less accurate. A copper ball was often used to decrease this change, but even that was subject to error. This method is still sometimes used, but for uniform results, a platinum ball, which will not scale or change in weight, is necessary, and the cost of this ball, together with the slowness of the method, have rendered the practice obsolete, especially in view of modern developments in accurate pyrometry.
PYROMETERS
Armor plate makers sometimes use the copper ball or Siemens' water pyrometer because they can place a number of the balls or weights on the plate in locations where it is difficult to use other pyrometers. One of these pyrometers is shown in section in Fig. 109.
FIG. 109.—Siemens' copper-ball pyrometer.
Siemens' Water Pyrometer.—It consists of a cylindrical copper vessel provided with a handle and containing a second smaller copper vessel with double walls. An air space a separates the two vessels, and a layer of felt the two walls of the inner one, in order to retard the exchange of temperature with the surroundings. The capacity of the inner vessel is a little more than one pint. A mercury thermometer b is fixed close to the wall of the inner vessel, its lower part being protected by a perforated brass tube, whilst the upper projects above the vessel and is divided as usual on the stem into degrees, Fahrenheit or Centigrade, as desired. At the side of the thermometer there is a small brass scale c, which slides up and down, and on which the high temperatures are marked in the same degrees as those in which the mercury thermometer is divided; on a level with the zero division of the brass scale a small pointer is fixed, which traverses the scale of the thermometer.
Short cylinders d, of either copper, iron or platinum, are supplied with the pyrometer, which are so adjusted that their heat capacity at ordinary temperature is equal to one-fiftieth of that of the copper vessel filled with one pint of water. As, however, the specific heat of metals increases with the temperature, allowance is made on the brass sliding scales, which are divided according to the metal used for the pyrometer cylinder d. It will therefore be understood that a different sliding scale is required for the particular kind of metal of which a cylinder is composed. In order to obtain accurate measurements, each sliding scale must be used only in conjunction with its own thermometer, and in case the latter breaks a new scale must be made and graduated for the new thermometer.
The water pyrometer is used as follows:
Exactly one pint (0.568 liter) of clean water, perfectly distilled or rain water, is poured into the copper vessel, and the pyrometer is left for a few minutes to allow the thermometer to attain the temperature of the water.