The brass scale c is then set with its pointer opposite the temperature of the water as shown by the thermometer. Meanwhile one of the metal cylinders has been exposed to the high temperature which is to be measured, and after allowing sufficient time for it to acquire that temperature, it is rapidly removed and dropped into the pyrometer vessel without splashing any of the water out.
The temperature of the water will rise until, after a little while, the mercury of the thermometer has become stationary. When this is observed the degrees of the thermometer are read off, as well as those on the brass scale c opposite the top of the mercury. The sum of these two values together gives the temperature of the flue, furnace or other heated space in which the metal cylinder had been placed. With cylinders of copper and iron, temperatures up to 1,800°F. (1,000°C.) can be measured, but with platinum cylinders the limit is 2,700°F. (1,500°C.).
For ordinary furnace work either copper or wrought-iron cylinders may be used. Iron cylinders possess a higher melting point and have less tendency to scale than those of copper, but the latter are much less affected by the corrosive action of the furnace gases; platinum is, of course, not subject to any of these disadvantages.
The weight to which the different metal cylinders are adjusted is as follows:
| Copper | 137.0 grams |
| Wrought-iron | 112.0 grams |
| Platinum | 402.6 grams |
In course of time the cylinders lose weight by scaling; but tables are provided giving multipliers for the diminished weights, by which the reading on the brass scale should be multiplied.
THE THERMO-COUPLE
With the application of the thermo-couple, the measurement of temperatures, between, say, 700 and 2,500°F., was made more simple and precise. The theory of the thermo-couple is simple; it is that if two bars, rods, or wires of different metals are joined together at their ends, when heated so that one junction is hotter than the other, an electromotive force is set up through the metals, which will increase with the increase of the difference of temperature between the two junctions. This electromotive force, or voltage, may be measured, and, from a chart previously prepared, the temperature determined. In most pyrometers, of course, the temperatures are inscribed directly on the voltmeter, but the fact remains that it is the voltage of a small electric current, and not heat, that is actually measured.
There are two common types of thermo-couples, the first making use of common, inexpensive metals, such as iron wire and nichrome wire. This is the so-called "base metal" couple. The other is composed of expensive metals such as platinum wire, and a wire of an alloy of platinum with 10 per cent of rhodium or iridium. This is called the "rare metal" couple, and because its component metals are less affected by heat, it lasts longer, and varies less than the base metal couple.
The cold junction of a thermo-couple may be connected by means of copper wires to the voltmeter, although in some installations of base metal couples, the wires forming the couple are themselves extended to the voltmeter, making copper connections unnecessary. From the foregoing, it may be seen that accurately to measure the temperature of the hot end of a thermo-couple, we must know the temperature of the cold end, as it is the difference in the temperatures that determines the voltmeter readings. This is absolutely essential for precision, and its importance cannot be over-emphasized.