vmelkon - 21-5-2013 at 14:05
From the mercury thermometers that I have seen, they all tend to go to a minimum of -10 °C. Is there is reason they don't go below that? They could
easily print more of the numbers all the way down to -25 °C.
Also, is it a bad idea to freeze the mercury in the thermometer?
confused - 21-5-2013 at 16:51
its not a good idea to freeze the mercury
from wikipedia:
"Mercury cannot be used below the temperature at which it becomes solid, -38.83 °C (-37.89 °F). If the thermometer contains nitrogen, the gas may
flow down into the column when the mercury solidifies and be trapped there when the temperature rises, making the thermometer unusable until returned
to the factory for reconditioning"