Article
Article
Thermostat
Article By:
Robbins, Nathaniel, Jr. Residential Division, Honeywell, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.691800
An instrument which directly or indirectly controls one or more sources of heating and cooling to maintain a desired temperature. To perform this function a thermostat must have a sensing element and a transducer. The sensing element measures changes in the temperature and produces a desired effect on the transducer. The transducer converts the effect produced by the sensing element into a suitable control of the device or devices which affect the temperature. The most commonly used principles for sensing changes in temperature are (1) unequal rate of expansion of two dissimilar metals bonded together (bimetals), (2) unequal expansion of two dissimilar metals (rod and tube), (3) liquid expansion (sealed diaphragm and remote bulb or sealed bellows with or without a remote bulb), (4) saturation pressure of a liquid-vapor system (bellows), and (5) temperature-sensitive resistance element.
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
