Temperature sensors are the oldest sensors in use (excluding the magnetic compass), dating back to the very beginning of the scientific age. Early thermometers were introduced in the early 1600s. Around the middle of the 1600s, the need for standards of temperature measurement were voiced by Robert Boyle and others. Shortly after, about 1700, some temperature scales were already in use, devised by Lorenzo Magalotti, Carlo Renaldini, Isaac Newton, and Daniel Fahrenheit. By 1742, all temperature scales, including the Celsius scale (devised in 1742 by Andres Celsius), but excluding the Kelvin scale, were established. Following the work of Leonard Carnot on engines and heat, Lord Kelvin proposed the absolute scale bearing his name in 1848 and established its relation with the Celsius scale. The temperature scales were further developed and improved until the establishment of the International Practical Temperature Scale in 1927, followed by further revisions to improve accuracy.
Temperature Sensors and Thermal Actuators, Page 1 of 2
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