Precise Temperature Measurement in Debye-Scherrer Specimens at Elevated Temperatures

• Published in: Journal of the American Ceramic Society 1965-04, Vol.48 (4), p.202-205
• Main Authors: MERRYMAN, ROY G., KEMPTER, CHARLES P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0002-7820; 1551-2916
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1965.tb14712.x

A general method was developed for precisely measuring the temperature of a Debye‐Scherrer specimen at elevated temperatures. The method consists of measuring the lattice parameters versus temperature of a primary standard which forms one leg of a calibrated thermocouple, with both specimen and thermocouple junction in the X‐ray beam, and then mixing the internal standard in powdered form with the powdered Debye‐Scherrer specimen so that the lattice parameters of the internal standard directly indicate temperature. Gold was used as the primary standard, platinum as the other thermocouple leg, and magnesium oxide as the Debye‐Scherrer specimen. The platinum/gold thermocouple was calibrated from 0° to 1000°C by the National Bureau of Standards. The lattice parameters (in angstroms; corrected for refraction in Ni Kα radiation) versus temperature are expressed by the equations: Gold (25° to 1000°C) Magnesium oxide (25° to 932°C) The temperature precision attained with the gold standard was estimated to be 1.5°C.