Measuring Temperature by Using Touch-Sensory Organ

In everyday life, we often hear or even feel hotness and coldness. Usually, to feel the hotness or coldness of a body, we only use the sense by touch-sensory organ. For example, the ice cream feels cold when we hold it, the boiling water feels hot when we touch it, or at noon the air feels hot. However, basically, the touch-sensory organ of everyone in feeling something, mainly about the hotness or coldness of a body are relatively different. Hence, measuring hotness and coldness degree of a body by using touch-sensory organ is not always correct and relative, it depends on the tendency of the sense and the sensitivity of the touch-sensory organ for everyone.

The hotness or coldness degree of a body is called temperature. In the discussion above it has been explained that to measure the temperature, you cannot use touch-sensory organ, because the result is relative. To prove it, do the following activity:

Measuring temperature by using touch-sensory organ

I. Objective
Investigating whether the touch-sensory organ is appropriate to be used for measuring temperature.

II. Devices and materials
1. Three jars/pails.
2. Cold water (melting ice), ordinary water, and warm water.

III. Working procedures
1. Fill the first jar with the warm water, the second with the ordinary water, and the third with the cold water.
2. Dip your right hand into the first jar, then dip your left hand into the third jar. Let it for one minute and feel the temperature.
3. Lift both of your hands from the first and the third jar, then put it quickly into the second jar. What felt is the both of your hands?
4. Make the conclusion from the activity above.

From the activity above, it can be concluded that the touch-sensory organ is inappropriate to expressed the temperature of a body. This is proved when doing third step in activity above, the right hand feels water is cooler while left hand feels water is warmer. It means the touch-sensory organ gives the relative responses to the temperature. Therefore, it is required a device to measure the temperature of a body.


Source: IPA-FISIKA

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