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Mercury thermometer has a history of more than 300 years since its appearance, as a simple structure, easy to operate, and basically “lifelong precision” thermometer once it came out, it has become the preferred tool for doctors and home health care to measure body temperature.

Although mercury thermometers are cheap and practical, mercury vapor and mercury compounds are highly toxic to all living things, and once they enter the human body through breathing, ingestion or other means, they will cause great harm to human health. Especially for children, because their various organs are still in the process of growth and development, once the harm of mercury poisoning, some consequences are irreversible. In addition, a large number of mercury thermometers kept in our hands have also become a source of natural environmental pollution, which is also an important reason why the country prohibits the production of mercury containing thermometers.

Since the production of mercury thermometers is banned, the main products that can be used as alternatives in the short term are electronic thermometers and infrared thermometers.

Although these products have the advantages of portable, quick to use, and do not contain toxic substances, but as electronic devices, they must use batteries to provide energy, once the aging of electronic components, or the battery is too low, will make the measurement results appear large deviation, especially the infrared thermometer is also affected by the external temperature. What’s more, the cost of both is slightly higher than that of mercury thermometers, but the accuracy is lower. Because of these reasons, it is impossible for them to replace mercury thermometers as the recommended thermometers in homes and hospitals.

However, a new type of thermometer has been discovered – gallium indium tin thermometer. Gallium indium alloy liquid metal as a temperature sensing material, and mercury thermometer, the use of its uniform “cold contraction heat rise” physical characteristics to reflect the measured body temperature. And non-toxic, non-harmful, once packaged, no calibration is required for life. As with mercury thermometers, they can be disinfected with alcohol and used by multiple people.

For the fragile problem that we are worried about, the liquid metal in the gallium indium tin thermometer will be solidified immediately after contact with the air, and will not volatilize to produce harmful substances, and the waste can be treated according to ordinary glass garbage, and will not cause environmental pollution.

 As early as 1993, the German company Geratherm invented this thermometer and exported it to more than 60 countries and regions around the world. However, gallium indium alloy liquid metal thermometer has only been introduced to China in recent years, and some domestic manufacturers have begun to produce this kind of thermometer. However, at present, most people in the country are not very familiar with this thermometer, so it is not very popular in hospitals and families. However, since the country has completely banned the production of mercury containing thermometers, it is believed that gallium indium tin thermometers will be completely popular in the near future.