Thermometer vs. Thermoscope

Main Difference

The main difference between Thermometer and Thermoscope is that the Thermometer is a device to measure temperature and Thermoscope is a old version of modern thermometer that measures the heat by both temperature and pressure

• Thermometer

  A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient. A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer or the digital sensor in an infrared thermometer) in which some change occurs with a change in temperature, and (2) some means of converting this change into a numerical value (e.g. the visible scale that is marked on a mercury-in-glass thermometer or the digital readout on an infrared model). Thermometers are widely used in industry to monitor processes, in meteorology, in medicine, and in scientific research.

  Some of the principles of the thermometer were known to Greek philosophers of two thousand years ago. The modern thermometer gradually evolved from the thermoscope with the addition of a scale in the early 17th century and standardisation through the 17th and 18th centuries.

• Thermoscope

  A thermoscope is a device that shows changes in temperature. A typical design is a tube in which a liquid rises and falls as the temperature changes. The modern thermometer gradually evolved from it with the addition of a scale in the early 17th century and standardisation through the 17th and 18th centuries.