The document discusses different methods for measuring temperature including RTDs, thermistors, and alcohol thermometers. It provides procedures to compare an RTD and thermistor by recording their resistances in ice water and boiling water. The document analyzes the data by determining equations that describe resistance variation with temperature for each and calculating thermistor properties.
The document discusses different methods for measuring temperature including RTDs, thermistors, and alcohol thermometers. It provides procedures to compare an RTD and thermistor by recording their resistances in ice water and boiling water. The document analyzes the data by determining equations that describe resistance variation with temperature for each and calculating thermistor properties.
The document discusses different methods for measuring temperature including RTDs, thermistors, and alcohol thermometers. It provides procedures to compare an RTD and thermistor by recording their resistances in ice water and boiling water. The document analyzes the data by determining equations that describe resistance variation with temperature for each and calculating thermistor properties.
The document discusses different methods for measuring temperature including RTDs, thermistors, and alcohol thermometers. It provides procedures to compare an RTD and thermistor by recording their resistances in ice water and boiling water. The document analyzes the data by determining equations that describe resistance variation with temperature for each and calculating thermistor properties.
OBJECT There are several ways of measuring temperature, each having its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the desired application. Within today's experiment will be looking at several ways of measuring temperature and seeing some of these advantages and disadvantages. The skills and knowledge gained from this lab will be used in future labs whenever temperature needs to be measured.
INTRODUCTION There are several types of temperature sensor (i.e., thermometer), each having its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the desired application. Two of the most common types are RTDs (resistance temperature detector) and thermistors. RTDs use the fact that most metals increase their electrical resistance with increased temperature, while thermistors use a ceramic or polymer whose electrical resistance falls as temperature rises. The thermistor is particularly useful for measuring low temperatures because the variation of resistance with temperature is greatest in this region, allowing for more accurate temperature determination. In this experiment you will compare the behaviours of these two types of thermometers.
PROCEDURE Use a piece of wire to fasten the thermistor to the glass thermometer so that the thermistor remains in close contact with the thermometer bulb. Fill the beaker with a mixture of crushed ice and water and place all three thermometers into the ice/water mix. Connect the resistance thermometers to digital multimeters. Place the beaker on a hot plate and record water temperature, RTD and thermistor resistances as the water is slowly brought to boiling. To minimize the effect of temperature gradients you should stir the water continuously throughout the heating process.
Task 1: Record your data in a suitable table.
Question 1: Data points at 00C and 1000C should not appear in your table. Why?
ANALYSIS The variation of RTD resistance with temperature is approximately linear and can be expressed by the equation: 𝑅(𝑇) = 𝑅𝑜 (1 + 𝛼 𝑇) Where 𝑅(𝑇) is the resistance at some temperature 𝑇 in Celsius, 𝑅𝑜 is the resistance at zero and 𝛼 is the temperature coefficient of resistance. For the thermistor, the variation of resistance with temperature can be expressed as: 𝑅𝑡(𝑇) = 𝑅𝐴 𝑒 −𝑐𝑇 Where 𝑅𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶 are constants.
Task 2: Plot your data for both resistance thermometers on the same graph (with a common axis for temperature)
Task 3: Determine the values for 𝑅𝑜 and 𝛼 for the RTD.
Task 4: Determine the values for 𝐴 and 𝐶 for the thermistor. Question 2: Look up an accepted value of 𝛼 for platinum and compare with your result, do they agree? Explain.
2|Page MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE The variation with of resistance with temperature for a semiconductor is described by the Steinhart-Hart equation (1968): 1 = 𝑐1 + 𝑐2 ln(𝑅) + 𝑐3 [ln(𝑅)]3 𝑇 Where 𝑇 is the temperature in Kelvins, 𝑅 is the resistance (in ohms) at temperature T, 𝑐1 , 𝑐2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐3 are the Steinhart-Hart coefficients which depend on the type of thermistor and the temperature range of interest. Neglecting the last term gives: 1 = 𝑐1 + 𝑐2 ln(𝑅) 𝑇 The constant 𝑐2 , is related to the energy gap 𝐸𝑔 , by: 2𝑘 𝑐2 = 𝐸𝑔 Where 𝑘 is the Boltzmann constant. Typical values of 𝐸𝑔 at room temperature are ~ 0.67 𝑒𝑉 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐺𝑒 and ~3.6 𝑒𝑉 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑍𝑛𝑆.
Task 5: Plot your data o a straight line by plotting the reciprocal of the absolute temperature in Kelvin versus the natural logarithm of R and obtain values for 𝑐1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐2.
Question 3: Calculate the energy gap for your thermistor. Is your value for the energy gap reasonable? Explain.
DISCUSSION
Discuss the suitability of the RTD and thermistor as practical temperature measuring de- vices. Do you think that one is better than the other? Explain briefly why a resistance thermometer may be used in place of a glass thermometer in certain applications. (Think about size, convenience, accuracy, etc.
EXTRA QUESTIONS NO EXTRA QUESTIONS FOR THIS EXPERIMENT.
