Thermometers for measuring a "cold spot" ?

Question

I just bought two thermometers to see if there is a ghost in my house. How far apart should the two thermometers be? Also, the "ghost" in question is a relative who may come to "visit"., not a permanent resident. Also, would shielding the thermometers some how prevent false readings in the case of a leaky window in the room, even if the two are about the same distance from the window? I'm also experimenting with EVP recordings and EMF location (using compass).

Answer 1

For measuring actual temperatures, get a temperature probe, not simply a thermometer. Thermometers don't react very quickly, while temperature probes give real-time readings.

I would honestly not even bother with thermometers, as any reading you might obtain would be instantly suspect for a variety of reasons (and unacceptable to both believers and skeptics alike). If I don't have a probe, I don't measure temperature.

A link to some affordable ones is below, you can probably find them at your local hardware store, too.

Answer 2

ah, Ghost trouble. If you're not a fan of them I'm sorry. If you are a good fan of ghosts, good luck investiagting!



  Anyways, I would say about 2.5 metres would be a safe distance to safely detect temperature at a different area. You'd then get an accurate reading of the cold/warm spots.

  Sheilding the thermometers would probably interfere with the accuracy of the reading. The air would be deflected, thus taking some of the heat with it.

  good luck with that Ghost! wooooooooooooooooo.    

Answer 3

I was told that if you do not know what you are doing.. you should not investigate like that. Otherwise, you could be tapping into other entities that are not family members. Essentially, you are opening the communication between you and the other world. Just what I heard.. i dunno. I am not a paranormal investigator. But.. I also saw an episode on Paranormal State that they said the same thing. Again, I am not an expert - just my two cents.  

Answer 4

Okay, assuming spirits exist and can cause cold spots...

If you're using two thermometers for redundancy (not a bad idea), place them close together. If you bought two so that you can cover more area, it really is up to you where you want to place them. If you want to detect mystery changes in temperature, obviously you want to avoid placing them in a draft or near a window.

However, eliminating the possibility of a draft in any location is a very hard thing to accomplish, so your idea of "shielding" is a good one. The question is how do you prevent a draft from affecting the thermometer while allowing ambient room temperature to still accurately be recorded?  After all, natural convection is a significant mechanism of heat transfer in a quiescent room, so if you inhibit convective mass transfer you might miss the "cold spot", especially if the spirit is present only for 5-10 seconds and then goes away. If the spirit hangs out for 5-10 minutes, however, you could put the thermometer in a light fabric bag or similar and that would help eliminate the effect of brief drafts here and there. But then you also have to consider the response time of your thermometer. Is it a digital one or a liquid one?  How fast does it equilibrate?  You could miss a fast-moving ghost if the thermometer doesn't act quickly enough.

In summary I don't think the experiment you're putting together can be controlled very well, and it's not just a problem with your set up, but it's a problem with using "cold spots" as evidence of ghost activity in general, especially since absolutely nothing of scientific rigor is know about spirits or how they produce cold spots in the first place.