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spaghetti3451
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Homework Statement
Explain why it would not make sense to use a full-size glass thermometer to measure the temperature of a thimbleful of hot water.
Homework Equations
Concept of thermal equilibrium
The Attempt at a Solution
When a thermometer is in contact into a thermal system, thermal energy flows from the system to the thermometer or vice-versa until thermal equilibrium is established between the thermometer and the system. In this process, the system gains or loses thermal energy and so the temperature of the system will have changed. Therefore, a thermometer can only accurately measure the temperature of a heat reservoir.
In this case, the full-size glass thermometer absorbs a significant amount of thermal energy from the thimbleful of hot water, so the temperature measured is highly inaccurate.
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