A Comparison of the ITS-90 Among NPL, NIM, and CEM, Above the Silver Point Using High-Temperature Fixed Points

A prototype comparison of the ITS-90, as realized by NPL, NIM, and CEM, using high-temperature fixed points (HTFPs) of Co-C (1324 A degrees C), Pt-C (1738 A degrees C), and Re-C (2474 A degrees C), is reported. The local realizations of ITS-90 temperatures were assigned by NPL, NIM, and CEM to their own set of HTFPs. NIM and CEM then transported their cells to NPL, and the ITS-90 temperatures of all three sets of cells were measured using a linear pyrometer. From these measurements, a comparison reference value (CRV) was derived. At the Co-C and Pt-C points, the deviation from the CRV was < 0.1 A degrees C for all three institutes; at the Re-C point, the deviation was < 0.4 A degrees C. These deviations are significantly less than the scale realization uncertainties ascribed by the individual institutes indicating that these uncertainty estimates are conservative and could be revised to smaller values. In addition, thermodynamic temperatures were determined for these HTFPs using the current value of the thermodynamic temperature for the copper point, namely, 1357.82 K. Given the consistent performance of the HTFPs, they should be seriously considered as scale comparison artifacts of choice when comparing primary realizations of the ITS-90 and of the thermodynamic temperature.