noun
- plural of thermoscope; early instruments used to detect changes in temperature without measuring exact degrees
Usage: historical; scientific instruments
Examples
- The museum displayed several 17th-century thermoscopes used by early scientists.
- Unlike modern thermometers, thermoscopes could only show relative temperature changes.
- Galileo’s thermoscopes were among the first devices to demonstrate thermal expansion.
- The collection included various thermoscopes made from glass and metal.
- Early thermoscopes helped scientists understand heat before precise measurement was possible.