Accession No
6174
Brief Description
Kata thermometer, by Casella, English, mid to late twentieth century
Origin
England; London
Maker
Casella
Class
metrology; meteorology
Earliest Date
1925
Latest Date
1980
Inscription Date
Material
glass; alcohol
Dimensions
[in card tube] length 270mm; diameter 30mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Donated in, or before, 2004.
Inscription
NO. 3177 (CASELLA) LONDON KATA RD. No. 447410 FACTOR NO. 442
Description Notes
Kata thermometer by Casella, mid to late twentieth century. Glass thermometer tube with alcohol (dyed blue) inside. Large bulb at one end, followed by small bulge in stem, followed by long thin stem, with small bulge at far end.
Stem is marked near the top with a thin black line, marked 130 F, and near the bottom with another line, marked 125.
Thermometer is no longer usable, as alcohol has become disrupted by air bubbles.
References
Events
Description
A kata thermometer measures the cooling power of the environment; it is used to estimate the personal comfort of workers, for example in mines. A spirit-in-glass thermometer is usually used: its bulb is heated to above body temperature, removed from the heat source and allowed to cool. The time taken for the thermometer reading to drop from above to below normal body temperatures is used to calculate the cooling power of the atmosphere, using a calibration factor F engraved on the thermometer by the manufacturer: cooling power = F/(time of cooling).
19/09/2007
Created by: Joshua Nall on 19/09/2007
FM:46640
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