In the year 1821, a physicist namely “Thomas Seebeck” revealed that when two

different metal wires were linked at both ends of one junction in a circuit when the
temperature applied to the junction, there will be a flow of current through the
circuit which is known as electromagnetic field (EMF). The energy which is produced
by the circuit is named as the Seebeck Effect. Using Thomas Seebeck’s effect as his
guideline, both Italian physicists namely Leopoldo Nobili and Macedonio Melloni were
collaborated to design a thermoelectrical- battery in the year 1826, that is called as a
thermal multiplier, it drew from the discovery of Seebeck’s thermoelectricity by
merging a galvanometer as well as a thermopile to calculate radiation. For his effort,
some people identified Nobili as the discoverer of the thermocouple.
_Definition:

Thermocouple can be defined as a device comprising of at least 2 joined metals

which forms 2 junctions. One of the junction is connected to the body of the device
whose temperature is required to be measured, while second is connected to an
entity whose temperature is already known. The unknown temperature junction is
known as the measuring or hot junction while the known temperature junction is
known as reference or cold junction.
Therefore, thermocouple can be referred to as a device which has capacity to
measure the temperature of an unknown entity with reference to the entity whose
temperature is known. One of the key applications of thermocouple is to measure
the voltage difference or EMF of a circuit.

Thermocouple Working Principle:

_The thermocouple principle mainly depends on the three effects namely
Seebeck, Peltier and Thompson:
 1) Seebeck effect:

The Seebeck effect states that when two different or unlike metals

are joined together at two junctions, an electromotive force (emf) is

generated at the two junctions. The amount of emf generated is

different for different combinations of the metals.

2) Peltier effect:

This Peltier effect is opposite to the Seebeck effect. This effect states that

the difference of the temperature can be formed among any two dissimilar

conductors by applying the potential variation among them.

3) Thompson-effect:

This effect states that as two disparate metals fix together & if they form

two joints then the voltage induces the total conductor’s length due to the

gradient of temperature. This is a physical word which demonstrates the

change in rate and direction of temperature at an exact position.

Construction of Thermocouple:
The construction of thermocouple is shown below. It comprises of two different metal
wires and that are connected together at the junction end. The junction thinks as the
measuring end. The end of the junction is classified into three type’s namely
ungrounded, grounded and exposed junction.
Ungrounded-Junction:
In this type of junction, the conductors are totally separated from the protecting cover.
The applications of this junction mainly include high-pressure application works. The
main benefit of using this junction is to decrease the stray magnetic field effect.

Grounded-Junction:
in this type of junction, the metal wires as well as protecting cover are connected
together. This function is used to measure the temperature in the acidic atmosphere,
and it supplies resistance to the noise.

Exposed-Junction:
The exposed junction is applicable in the areas where quick response is required.
This type of junction is used to measure the gas temperature. The metal used to
make the thermocouple basically depends on the calculating range of temperature.
 Generally, a thermocouple is designed with two different metal wires

namely iron and constantan that makes in detecting element by

connecting at one junction that is named as a hot junction. This consist of

two junctions, one junction is connected by voltmeter or transmitter where

the cold junction and second junction is associated in a process that is

called as a hot junction.

Working of Thermocouple:
The circuit of the thermocouple is shown in the figure below. The
circuit consists two dissimilar metals. These metals are joined together
in such a manner that they are creating two junctions. The metals are
bounded to the junction through welding.

Let the P and Q are the two junctions of the thermocouples. The T 1 and
T2 are the temperatures at the junctions. As the temperature of the
junctions is different from each other, the EMF generates in the circuit.

If the temperature at the junction becomes equal, the equal and

opposite EMF generates in the circuit, and the zero current flows
through it. If the temperatures of the junction become unequal, the
potential difference induces in the circuit. The magnitude of the EMF
induces in the circuit depends on the types of material used for making
the thermocouple. The total current flowing through the circuit is
measured through the measuring devices.

The EMF induces in the thermocouple circuit is given by the equation

 Where Δθ – temperature difference between the hot thermocouple junction and the
reference thermocouple junction.
a, b – constants

Measurement of Thermocouple Output:

The output EMF obtained from the thermocouples can be measured
through the following methods.

1. Multimeter – It is a simpler method of measuring the output EMF of

the thermocouple. The multimeter is connected to the cold
junctions of the thermocouple. The deflection of the multimeter
pointer is equal to the current flowing through the meter.
2. Potentiometer – The output of the thermocouple can also be
measured with the help of the DC potentiometer.
3. Amplifier with Output Devices – The output obtains from the
thermocouples is amplified through an amplifier and then feed to the
recording or indicating instrument.

Thermocouple types:
Thermocouples exist in many different types, each with its own color
codes for the dissimilar-metal wires. Here is a table showing the more
common thermocouple types and their standardized colors, along with
some distinguishing characteristics of the metal types to aid in polarity
identification when the wire colors are not clearly visible
Range and sensitivity
When selecting thermocouple types, ensure that your measuring equipment does
not limit the range of temperatures that can be measured. Listed below is the
range of temperatures that the 8-channel Pico TC-08 Thermocouple Data
Logger can measure. Note that thermocouples with low sensitivity (B, R and S)
have a correspondingly lower resolution.
Laws of Thermocouple:
The Peltier and Thomson effects explain the basic thermoelectric
principle. But, this is not sufficient to provide a better technique to
measure the voltage during the measuring situations. For this
purpose, we have three different laws of thermoelectric circuits to
provide useful tips to measure the temperature. These laws are
known as, law of homogeneous circuit, law of intermediate metals
and law of intermediate temperatures.

The first law, homogeneous circuit, states that in a circuit composed

of a single homogeneous metal, cannot generate an electric potential
by the application of even sufficient temperature difference between
two different points of the circuit.

The second law is also known as thermocouple law of intermediate

metals, states that the net EMF in a circuit consisting of
interconnections of a number of unlike metals, maintained at the
same temperature, is zero. That means, if other metal conductors
are inserted in the thermocouple circuit and the junctions of these
interconnected metal conductors are in same temperature, then
output emf will not be affected and remains same as it was made of
only two metals. The practical implication of this principle is that
lead wires may be attached to the thermocouple without affecting
the accuracy of the measured EMF, provided that the newly formed

Thermocouple Applications:
Some of the applications of thermocouple include the following.

 These are used as the temperature sensors in thermostats in offices, homes,

offices & businesses.
 These are used in industries for monitoring temperatures of metals in iron,
aluminum, and metal.
 These are used in the food industry for cryogenic and Low-temperature
applications. Thermocouples are used as a heat pump for performing
thermoelectric cooling.
 These are used to test temperature in the chemical plants, petroleum plants.
 These are used in gas machines for detecting the pilot flame.
 Thus, this is all about an overview of the thermocouple. From the above
information finally, we can conclude that the measurement of thermocouple
output can be calculated by using the methods like a multimeter, potentiometer,
and amplifier by output devices. The main purpose of the thermocouple is to
build consistent & direct temperature measurements in several different
applications.
Advantages of Thermocouple:
The following are the advantages of the thermocouples.

1. The thermocouple is cheaper than the other temperature measuring

devices.
2. The thermocouple has the fast response time.
3. It has a wide temperature range.

Disadvantages of the Thermocouples:

1. The thermocouple has low accuracy.

2. The recalibration of the thermocouple is difficult.

Nickel-alloy, platinum/rhodium alloy, Tungsten/rhenium-alloy,

chromel-gold, iron-alloy are the name of the alloys used for making
the thermocouple.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, for the thermocouples experiment the law of intermediate metals and
temperatures were shown. The error involved could have been smaller if uncertainty
was involved in this experiment. For the thermistor the error could have been from
the person reading the temperature and resistance at each 10 degree increment.
Like the thermocouples if uncertainty was involved then this error could have been
corrected. For the psychrometer, more measurements could have been taken. The
more measurements we could have taken would have given us a better average for
both the wet and dry bulb temps. This experiment was an overall success, with a
small amount of erro.