The more you work the processor in your computer, the warmer it gets. You may have noticed that laptops tend to feel warmer when you run extensive tasks on them. Entire companies are dedicated to making products to keep computers cool, such as laptop desks with built-in USB-powered fans, stronger thermal compounds, and even water-powered heat sinks. In reality, computers are manufactured to keep themselves underneath the maximum temperature they are able to withstand, so these products are rarely necessary unless you are pushing your processor beyond its manufactured limits. However, it's still important to look at your temperatures every now and then, to make sure that your cooling system isn't starting to fail.

The command used in Linux to monitor system temperatures is sensors. The sensors command prints the current temperatures recorded in your system, and then brings you back to the shell prompt. If you prefer to have the temperatures reported in...