So how do you tell on the mercury thermometer whether the ice bath is 32.01°F or 32.07°F?
So how do you tell on the mercury thermometer whether the ice bath is 32.01°F or 32.07°F?
For our purposes, the 1/4 degree graduations on the mercury thermometer are sufficient. If further accuracy is required - and the thermocouple readers we use don't require it - we have NIST-traceable calibrated digital units that are accurate to 0.01°, but we rarely care about more than 0.1°. At those levels, unless you have a >16bit A/D in your reader, you're getting into dither.
I did check and see what is in the cal drawer, they've purchased a 0.1° unit since I've been away.
For our purposes, the 1/4 degree graduations on the mercury thermometer are sufficient. If further accuracy is required - and the thermocouple readers we use don't require it - we have NIST-traceable calibrated digital units that are accurate to 0.01°, but we rarely care about more than 0.1°. At those levels, unless you have a >16bit A/D in your reader, you're getting into dither.
I did check and see what is in the cal drawer, they've purchased a 0.1° unit since I've been away.
https://pic8.co/sh/vsF3EG.jpg
(post is archived)