Why is mercury used in thermometers?

Liquid in glass thermometers are the cheapest kind of thermometer, and are also easy to use. Mercury is easily the best liquid to use, for 5 important reasons. 1. It is very reflective, so it's easy to see and to read accurately. 2. It doesn't wet the glass, so you don't get inaccurate readings if the temperature is falling. 3. read more

Mercury-in-glass thermometer for measurement of room temperature. Daniel Fahrenheit's mercury-in-glass thermometer was far more reliable and accurate than any that had existed before, and the mercury thermometers in use today are made in the way Fahrenheit devised. read more

Mercury is used in thermometers eventhough its a bad conductor of heat due to its really high sensitivity towards heat,mercury expands significantly even for a small rise in temperature for which other metals show no or relatively smaller change . read more

Mercury, like alcohol is reactive to heat and expands when heated and contracts when cooled. This causes the Mercury to move up and down the tube. ANSWER Mercury or alchohol Mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature, and is therefore the only metal that can be considered for a thermometer. read more