Galileo didn't invent thermometer that bears his name

That's the message of an article in ACS' Journal of Chemical Education.

Peter Loyson explains that a number of companies sell so-called "Galilean thermometers," sealed tubes of liquid in which glass spheres float and sink with changes in ambient temperature. Modern versions have morphed into elegant curiosity pieces with multi-colored spheres and gold-plated temperature tags. The instruments rely on a liquid, like water or alcohol, whose density increases as temperature falls. The glass spheres each are made to a precise density that matches that of the suspension liquid at a specific temperature. When a sphere floats midway up the tube, it represents the temperature of the room.

Although Galileo may have originated the idea in a 1638 book, the Accademia del Cimento, an early scientific society founded in Florence in 1657 by Galileo's students, actually deserves the credit, Loyson says. The Accademia del Cimento -- "the Academy of Experiment" -- developed other instruments, as well. Loyson suggests "Florentine thermometer" as a more appropriate name for these colorful marvels.