Reading A Thermocouple With Mercury And A Potentiometer

A look at a vintage potentiometer instrument used to measure thermocouple voltage, including how it works using a galvanometer and a Weston cell as a stable 1.018V reference. The device was calibrated and tested against ice water, boiling water, and an alcohol flame, proving accurate. The Weston cell, despite being 74 years old, still measured at 1.017 volts.

Source: https://hackaday.com/2026/08/05/reading-a-thermocouple-with-mercury-and-a-potentiometer. 8sync News only summarizes and links out; content copyright belongs to the authors and original sources.