this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
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older ones are often electrical, but not really electronic. they use a bimetal strip that bends due to changing temperatures, to complete a circuit at the point you set the slider. it's actually a really fascinatingly simple bit of tech.
Mine growing up used a bit of mercury in a sealed vial mounted to that bimetallic strip.
any idea what the mercury was for? something about getting the heat in and out of the strip faster maybe?
The Mercury is in a glass tube with two wires and the tube is attached to the bimetallic strip in such a way that the motion of the Mercury due to gravity as the strip moves will close the circuit between the two wires. The Mercury is just being used a liquid conductor.
Yeah, sorry. It was the switch! Two wires on one side. When the capsule tilts from the strip/coil it makes the electrical connection.
that is fascinating, thank you and @[email protected] for the elaboration. quite clever.