What to do if the thermometer can't be shaken off

Thermometers are widely used in daily life. They can help people detect body temperature in real time, detect physical discomfort in time, and avoid worsening of the disease. However, many people have encountered the problem that the thermometer cannot be lowered in life. In fact, it is very simple. Instead of simply using your hands, you should wipe the end of the mercury column with alcohol, and then you can simply lower the temperature to a normal position.

1. There is a very thin constriction above the glass bulb containing mercury in the thermometer. When measuring body temperature, the mercury expands and can rise to the glass bulb above through the constriction. When reading the temperature, the thermometer is away from the human body, the mercury cools and contracts, and breaks at the constriction. The mercury column cannot return to the glass bulb and still indicates the original temperature. Therefore, although the thermometer is away from the human body, it still indicates the temperature of the human body. To make the mercury that has risen return to the glass bulb, you can take the thermometer and shake it downward with force (other thermometers are not allowed to be shaken). So if you put the thermometer in 30 degrees Celsius water without shaking it after use, it will still maintain the original temperature. The range of the thermometer is 35 degrees Celsius to 42 degrees Celsius, so even if you shake it and put it in 30 degrees Celsius water, although its reading will drop, you still cannot read the value.

2 In fact, shaking the body with your hands is incorrect, as it will lead to errors in the temperature measured. The correct way is to wipe the end of the mercury column with alcohol, or soak the end of the mercury column in a small amount of alcohol, wait for 1-2 minutes, and the mercury column will drop to its normal position.

3 At the same time, do not hold the thermometer tube with your hands. It is best to hold the upper end of the glass side. This way, the measured body temperature will have less error. After use, the thermometer should be "returned" so that the mercury that has risen into the tube returns to the liquid bubble. If the mercury is not lowered back into the liquid bubble for a long time, it is likely to condense and will never be able to go back, and the device will be broken. These points must be mastered. I hope everyone will remember this.