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© Isothermal Technology
Page 26 of 102
923 milliK manual - issue: 1.10
3.3.1 Using Internal Reference Junction Compensation
The EMF developed by a thermocouple depends on the temperature difference between the
measurement and reference junctions. It is therefore necessary to know the temperature of the
reference junction (the point at which the electrical circuit changes to copper) in order to
calculate the temperature at the measurement junction. The milliK measures the temperature
of the contacts in the miniature thermocouple connectors on the front panel so that these can
be used as the reference junction in the thermocouple system. In this arrangement there is no
externally accessible reference junction and wires that make up the thermocouple are
connected to the milliK using a connector made of the same material as the wire itself. It is
essential that the correct “typed” connector is used with the thermocouple:
Reference
Measurement
Junction
Junction
M+
M-
When using a thermocouple with internal reference junction compensation, the ‘Reference’
parameter in the
Settings
Window should be set to “Internal” (see section 3.3.4).
For greater accuracy, you can use an external reference junction whose temperature is
measured with a calibrated thermometer (see section 3.3.2) or that is immersed in an ice-point
at 0°C (see section 3.3.3).
3.3.2 Using External Reference Junction Compensation
The milliK allows you to measure the temperature of an external reference junction using a
thermometer connected to another channel. This technique can provide better measurement
uncertainty (than using internal reference junction compensation, see section 3.3.1) provided
that the reference junction and sensing thermometer are adequately isothermal and that the
reference junction thermometer is sufficiently accurate: