General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

non-ferrous metal armour (brass?)/glass tube/ mercury?

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

43.0 cm

Width

N/A

Height

N/A

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

1.3 cm

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Meteorology

Category

Atmospheric temperature measurement

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Exactel

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

general: 1940's to 1960's

Canada

An example of an armoured thermometer of a type used by the Meteorological Service of Canada. Part of a large collection of meteorological instruments acquired from the Meteorological Service of Canada (previously Atmospheric Environment Service) by the CSTM since 1967. MSC is the government agency responsible for collecting and disseminating meteorological data and forecasts in Canada. It was founded in 1871 in Toronto where it is still headquartered. The MSC was originally on the University of Toronto downtown campus but moved to Downsview in 1971 on land owned by UofT. The headquarters houses laboratories, research facilities and calibration and instrument maintenance facilities (now largely contracted out).

Function

An instrument used to measure temperature by means of its effect on a column of mercury in glass, armoured for use in measuring water temperature.

Technical

An example of a thermometer in protective armour consisting of a perforated metal sheath. Armour was being used by MSC in the 1940's and 1950's to protect thermometers used for measuring sea or lake surface temperatures; armoured thermometers like this artifact appears in the 1952 MSC Thermometers Manual (Ref. 1). A sample of water was obtained in a canvas bucket and the temperature of the water it contained read almost immediately with an ordinary thermometer. By 1971 this armoured thermometer and bucket method had been replaced by sea temperature buckets in which a thermometer was fixed in a small container (Refs 1-3).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Black lettering on thermometer back reading 'EXACTEL'/ scale markings and numbers on thermometer front for 30 to 120 degrees F.

Missing

complete

Finish

plated armour/ clear, colourless glass tube with white back/ metallic bulb

Decoration

N/A