Breguet's thermometer, also called a spiral thermometer, is a type of
thermometer which uses the
expansion
Expansion may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine
* ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004
* ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970
* ''Expansio ...
of metal under heat to produce a measurement more sensitive, and with a higher range, than both
mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
and
air thermometers. Working on the principle of a
bimetallic strip, it consists of a very slender strip of
platinum soldered to a similar strip of
silver, with a slip of
gold soldered in between.

The strips of soldered metals are curved into a
helix (a). The upper extremity of the helix is fastened to a metallic support (c) and the lower extremity is connected to an index, which projects over a graduated circle (b).
The expansion of silver with temperature is almost twice as great as platinum, with gold being in somewhere in between. The result is that a temperature rise or fall will cause a corresponding twist in the spiral, moving the index. The slip of gold in between is to prevent "sudden starts".
References
{{reflist
Thermometers