Calibration of platinum resistance thermometers.
Results of five years experience in calibrating about 1000 commercial platinum resistance thermometers (PRT) are reported. These PRT were relatively small and rugged, with ice-point resistances from 200 to 5000 ohms. Calibrations normalized in terms of resistance-difference ratios (Cragoe Z function) were found to be remarkably uniform for five of six different types of PRT tested, and to agree very closely with normalized calibrations of the primary reference standard type PRT. The Z function normalization cancels residual resistances which are not temperature dependent and simplifies interpolation between calibration points when the quality of a given type of PRT has been established in terms of uniform values of the Z function. Measurements at five or six well spaced base-point temperatures with Z interpolation will suffice to calibrate a PRT accurately from 4 to 900 K.