Patent ID: 6939036

Claim:
A system comprising: a component subject to expansion and contraction as a function of temperature, the component comprising a material having a predetermined thermal expansion characteristic over a temperature range; a temperature sensor thermally responsive to the component for sensing a current temperature of the component, wherein the temperature sensor is one of affixable to and integral with the component; a temperature expansion indicator providing a visual indication of temperature versus distance from a reference point on the component to a point along a range of distances from the reference point, said point corresponding to an extent of expansion and contraction of the component according to said thermal expansion characteristic at a given current temperature of the component; and, wherein the temperature sensor provides a visual indication of the current temperature sensed by the temperature sensor by identifying a temperature indicating point corresponding to the current temperature on a scale of temperatures versus distances, and wherein said expansion and contraction of the component according to said thermal expansion characteristic substantially correspond spatially, at the current temperature, to a location of the temperature indicating point alone said scale of temperatures versus distances.