EVALUATION OF T H E N O R M A L THERMODYNAMIC

BOILING TEMPERATURE OF H E L I U M

D. N. A s t r o v , M. P. O r l o v a , UDC 536.508.13
a n d O. A. K y t i n

A thermodynamic temperature scale does not exist at present in the range of 4.2 to 10~ Preliminary results
for the establishment of such a scale were published in [4]. The preliminary results of the work carried out at the
NBS [2] are also known. For establishing in practice a temperatuxe scale in this t e c h n i c a l l y difficult range, it is i m -
portant to obtain independent data on the reference points and especially on the normal boiling temperature of
helium. In addition to specifying the boiling point of helium on the thermodynamic scale, this result will serve to
judge possible deviations of the practical from the thermodynamic scale in the range of 4.2 to 10~

It is well known that for measuring the temperature in the helium range, t h e best results are obtained by us-
ing the International Scale Ts~, which relates the pressure of saturated helium vapor to temperature. Scale Ts8
was established by means of the gas thermometry method by using the heat of evaporation values. Moreover, m a g -
netic methods were used for interpolation purposes [3]. This scale serves as a reference for establishing t e m p e r a -
ture scales in the uttralow temperature range. An independent evaluation of the normal boiling point of helium
can also serve to make the Ts8 scale more precise.

We used as primary instruments a constant-density gas thermometer, a helium condensation thermometer [1],
a hydrogen compensated thermometer [4], and a germanium resistance thermometer, which were calibrated in con-
densation thermometers and then mounted in the g a s - t h e r m o m e t e r comparison unit. This procedure was due to the
fact that the a v a i l a b l e equipment was unsuitable for a direct comparison of the readings of gas and condensation
thermometers. Moreover, the reference point which served to calibrate the gas thermometer consisted of the normal
boiling point of hydrogen with a natural composition. This temperature, according to the recommendations of the
VII Session of the International Consultative C o m m i t t e e on Thermometry, was taken to be 20.384~ Such a selec-
tion of the reference point was due to the possibility of obtaining smaller instrument corrections. The technique in
reproducing the normal boiling point of hydrogen differed but l i t t l e from the previously described methods. In order
to e l i m i n a t e any uncertainty in obtaining a c o m p l e t e conversion of hydrogen, the condensation thermometer in-
tended for use in measuring the pressure of hydrogen equilibrium was filled with pure hydrogen vapor obtained by
conversion on activated carbon in a separate instrument. With this operation technique the discrepancy between the
two condensation thermometer readings converted according to the well-known formula [5] did not exceed ~ 0.001
deg.

The normal boiling point of h e l i u m was set on the gas thermometer by means of a condensation thermometer
previously described.

The transfer thermometers consisted of a group of four germanium resistance thermometers m a d e according
to the normal production technology [6]. In cahbrating the thermometers of this group, their resistances were evalu-
ated 11 and 9 times, respectively, in a hydrogen and a helium condensation thermometer.

It should be noted that considerable difficulty was experienced in relating the germanium thermometer r e a d -
ings to the values of their resistances at the reference points, since the values of their derivatives d R / d r were not
known. The values of these derivatives at reference points were determined graphically from the readings of the
germanium thermometers in the course of their calibration at temperatures approaching the reference temperatures,
as well as from the readings of the gas thermometer in the course of calibration.

In order to check the stability of the thermometers of this group, their calibration at the reference points was
m a d e before and after the measurements with the gas thermometer. The germanium thermometer readings then

Translated from I z m e r i t e l ' n a y a Tekhnika, No. 5, pp. 17-19, May, 1967. Original article submitted March 4,
1968.

542
TABLE 1 coincided within the range of the reference points' re-
producibility. Moreover, according to our measure-
eRH~9IO3, dRH 2 ~F~He" I0~' dRHe ments, this calibration retained the same precision in
--dF- the last three years. According to the results thus ob-
deg deg
tained, the setting of reference points on the gas
17 17.892
17.608 0.6 1 ,C9 151.54 1,0 59.38 thermometer can be considered sufficiently reliable.
0,4 1 94 228,48 0.6 91.34
17 24.25/ 0.4 2,62 219.34 0,6 6/.85
18 22.526 0,4 2.38 213,06 0,6 67,71 The gas thermometer used by us consisted of the
well-known instrument without a dead space [7] adapted
for measurements at above temperatures. The use of
this model was due to the complexity of determining
TABLE 2 the temperature field which occurs along the connect-
No. of ing capillary in a normal gas thermometer and must be
THe according to therm-
4 ev alu atio ns
PHe, ometers of groups, K
known for correcting purposes. Moreover, the errors
due to the use of a zero m e m b r a n e manometer, i n c l u d -
TH~ Pile N/m z ing the error of evaluating the b a l a n c e position of the
7 16 7 18
m e m b r a n e , the instability of the capacity measuring
circuit, the drift with temperature i n the zero position
13000 4.2147 4,225~ 4.213s 4,214,
l,V
v
3950
8000
4.214o
4,2114
4.214~ 4,212v
4 2114 4,212~
of the m e m b r a n e , etc., were found to be one order
lower than the errors due to other factors.

The pressure in the gas thermometer was meas-

ured by a mercury thermostatically controlled m a n o m -
eter described in [8], whose thermal regulation circuit was modified and the temperature operating condition i m -
proved. The pressure was read on a cathetometer, type KN-9. Measurements were made at three different fillings
of a gas-thermometer working chamber with gaseous helium. This helium was either purified by passing it through
activized carbon at the temperature of liquid hydrogen, or collected near the surface of evaporating liquid helium.

In our opinion, in both instances of such purification the content of admixtures whose sorption on the walls of
the operating chamber at the above temperatures could produce a systematic error did not exceed 10-4%

The gas thermometer pressure was selected so that the errors due to the pressure measurement and to an i n a c -
curate application of the virial correction are comparable to each other. In our tests the gas thermometer pressure
in measuring the boiling point of helium was in the range of 4000-13,350 N / m 2 and corresponded to 20,000-67,000
N/m 2 at the boiling point of hydrogen.
In order to attain the required temperatures in the comparison unit of the gas thermometer with the incorpo-
rated germanium thermometers, we used two different procedures. In the first instance, the gas thermometer unit
was placed in a vacuum cryostat, whose jacket was filled with a h e a t - e x c h a n g e gas or evacuated with a high-
vacuum pump, thus making it possible to obtain temperatures approaching those of the containers (with liquid h e l i -
um or liquid hydrogen) for an insignificant spontaneous temperature variation in the comparison unit (not exceeding
5 9 10 -5 d e g / m i n ) . In the second instance, the comparison unit was immersed directly, first in the liquid helium
and then in the liquid hydrogen container. Moreover, by setting with a m e m b r a n e regulator the vapor pressure over
the liquid in the container at a value a Iittle different from normal, it b e c a m e possible to obtain temperatures
which virtually coincided with the reference values or approached them.

The measuring process consisted in reading with a cathetometer the height of the mercury column in a m a n o m -
eter after equalizing the pressure on either side of the zero m e m b r a n e manometer, and measuring at the same t i m e
the resistances of the reference-group germanium thermometers on a potentiometric equipment.

In evaluating the temperature of the gas thermometer by measuring the height of the mercury column, all the
possible sources of systematic errors were taken into consideration and corresponding corrections were applied.

The true pressure in the gas thermometer was determined by taking into consideration the temperature of mer-
cury i n the manometer and the value of the capillary depression [9].

Deviation in the properties of gas in the gas thermometer from those of an ideal gas were accounted for by us-
ing in computations the second and third virial coefficients obtained from printed data. For this purpose we used
the results arrived at in [10, 11]. The discrepancy in the values of the second virial coefficient in the two works at
4.2~ and gas-thermometer pressures of the order of 15,000 N / m 2 led to a difference of 2.5 9 10 -3 deg between the

543