Final answer:
Sterilizing a clinical thermometer in boiling water is ill-advised; it can break the thermometer, damage its accuracy, and if it contains mercury, pose a risk of toxic exposure.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is not advisable to sterilize a clinical thermometer in boiling water at normal atmospheric pressure for several reasons. Primarily, the high temperature can cause the thermometer to break, rendering it unusable. Moreover, clinical thermometers are designed to measure within a specific temperature range, and exposure to boiling temperatures can damage their accuracy by causing the mercury or alcohol inside to expand beyond the intended limit. Additionally, if the thermometer contains mercury, boiling it increases the risk of toxic mercury exposure, should the thermometer break. Therefore, alternate sterilization methods better preserve the integrity and accuracy of the thermometer.