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THERMOELECTRICITY
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THERMOELECTRICITY . 1. Fundamental Phenomena.—Alessandro See also:Volta (i8oi.) showed that although a separation of the two electricities was produced by the contact of two different metals (Volta Effect), which could be detected by a sensitive See also:electrometer, a continuous current of corresponding magnitude could not be produced in a purely metallic See also:circuit without the interposition of a liquid, because the electromotive force at one junction was exactly balanced by an equal and opposite force at the other. T. J. Seebeck (1822), employing a See also:galvanometer then recently invented, which was more suited for the detection of small electromotive forces, found that a current was produced if the junctions of the two metals were at different temperatures. He explained this effect by supposing that the Volta contact electromotive force varied with the temperature, so that the exact See also:balance was destroyed by unequal See also:heating. The intensity (45) of the current, C, for any given pair of metals, was found to vary directly as the difference of temperature, t-t', between the hot and See also:cold junctions, and inversely as the resistance, R, of the circuit. We conclude by applying See also:Ohm's See also:law that the electromotive force, E, of the thermocouple may be approximately represented for small See also:differences of temperature by the See also:formula E=CR=p(t-t') . . (I) 2. Thermoelectric See also:Power, See also:Series, See also:Inversion.—The limiting value, dE/dt, of the coefficient, p, for an infinitesimal difference, dt, between the junctions is called the Thermoelectric Power of the couple. One See also:metal (A) is said to be thermoelectrically See also:positive to another (B), if positive See also:electricity flows from A to B across the cold junction when the circuit is completed. The opposite See also:convention is sometimes adopted, but the above is the most convenient in practice, as the circuit is generally broken at or near the cold junction for the insertion of the galvanometer. Seebeck found that the metals could be arranged in a Thermoelectric Series, in the See also:order of their power when combined with any one metal, such that the power of any thermocouple p, composed of the metals A and B, was equal to the algebraic difference (p'-p") of their See also:powers when combined with the See also:standard metal C. The order of the metals in this series was found to be different from that in the corresponding Volta series, and to be considerably affected by See also:variations in purity, hardness and other See also:physical conditions. J. See also:Cumming shortly afterwards discovered the phenomenon of Thermo-electric Inversion, or the See also:change of the order of the metals in the thermoelectric series at different temperatures. See also:Copper, for instance, is negative to See also:iron at See also:ordinary temperatures, but is positive to it at 300° C. or above. The E.M.F. of a copper-iron thermocouple reaches a maximum when the temperature of the hot junction is raised to 270° C., at which temperature the thermoelectric power vanishes and the metals are said to be neutral to one another. Beyond this point the E.M.F. diminishes, vanishing and changing sign when the temperature of the hot junction is nearly as much above the neutral point as the temperature of the cold junction is below it. Similar phenomena occur in the See also:case of many other couples, and it is found that the thermoelectric power p is not in See also:general a See also:constant, and that the See also:simple linear formula (I) is applicable only for small differences of temperature. More accurately it may be stated that the thermoelectromotive force in any given circuit containing a series of different metals is a See also:function of the temperatures of the junctions only, and is See also:independent of the See also:distribution of the temperature at any intermediate points, provided that each of the metals in the series is of See also:uniform quality. This statement admits of the simple mathematical expression f, N E =f p'dt + f t, p"dt+&c. . where p', p, &c., are the thermoelectric powers of the metals, and to, t', t", &c., the temperatures of the junctions. There are some See also:special cases of sufficient See also:practical importance to be separately stated. 3. Homogeneous Circuit. See also:Strain See also:Hysteresis.—In a circuit consisting of a single metal, no current can be produced by variations of temperature, provided that the metal is not thereby strained or altered. This was particularly demonstrated by the experiments of H. G. See also:Magnus. The effects produced by abrupt changes of temperature or See also:section, or by pressing together pieces of the same metal at different temperatures, are probably to be explained as effects of strain. A number of interesting effects of this nature have been investigated by See also:Thomson, F. P. Le Roux, P. G. -See also:Tait and others, but the theory has not as yet been fully See also:developed. An interesting example is furnished by an experiment due to F. T. Trouton (Proc. R. S. Dub., 1886). A piece of iron or See also:steel See also:wire in the circuit of a galvanometer is heated in a See also:flame to See also:bright redness at any point. No effect is noticed so See also:long as the flame is stationary, but if the flame be moved slowly in one direction a current is observed, which changes its direction with the direction of See also:motion of the flame. The explanation of this phenomenon is that the metal is trans-formed at a red See also:heat Into another modification, as is proved by simultaneous changes in its magnetic and See also:electrical properties. The change from one See also:state to the other takes See also:place at a higher temperature on heating than on cooling. The junctions of the magnetic and the non-magnetic steel are therefore at different temperatures if the flame is moved, and a current is produced just as if a piece of different metal with junctions at different temperatures had been introduced into the circuit. Other effects of " hysteresis " occur in See also:alloys of iron, which have been studied by W. F. See also:Barrett (Trans. R. S. Dub., See also:January 1900). 4. Law of Successive Temperatures.—The E.M.F. of a given couple between any temperatures t' and t" is the algebraic sum of the E.M.F. between t' and any other temperature t and the E.M.F. between t' and t". A useful result of this law is that it is sufficient to keep one junction always at some convenient standard temperature, such as o C., and to tabulate only the values of the E.M.F. in the circuit corresponding to different temperatures of the other junction. 5. Law of Intermediate Metals.—A thermoelectric circuit may be cut at any point and a wire of some other metal introduced without altering the E.M.F. in the circuit, provided that the two junctions with the metal introduced are kept at the same temperature. This law is commonly applied in connecting a thermocouple to a galvanometer with coils of copper wire, the junctions of the copper wires with the other metals being placed See also:side• by side in a See also:vessel of See also:water or otherwise kept at the same temperature. Another way of stating this law, which, .though apparently quite different, is really See also:equivalent in effect, is the following. The E.M.F. of any couple, AB, for any given limits of temperature is the algebraic sum of the E.M.F.s between the same limits of temperature of the couples BC and CA formed with any other metal C. It is for this See also:reason unnecessary to tabulate the E.M.F.s of all possible combinations of metals, since the E.M.F. of any couple can be at once deduced by addition from the values given by its components with a single standard metal. Different observers have chosen different metals as the standard of reference. Tait and J. A. See also:Fleming select See also:lead on See also:account of the smallness of the Thomson effect in it, as observed by Le Roux. Noll adopts See also:mercury because it is easily purified, and its physical See also:condition in the liquid state is determinate; there is, however, a discontinuity involved in passing from the liquid to the solid state at a temperature of -4o° C., and it cannot be used at all with some metals, such as lead, on account of the rapidity with which it dissolves them. Both lead and mercury have the disadvantage that they cannot be employed for temperatures much above 300° C. Of all metals, copper is the most generally convenient, as it is always employed in electrical connexions and is easily obtained in the annealed state of uniform purity. For high temperature See also:work it is necessary to employ See also:platinum, which would be an ideal standard for all purposes on account of its constancy and infusibility, did not the thermoelectric properties of different specimens differ considerably. 6. Thermoelectric Formulae.—On the basis of the principles stated above, the most obvious method of tabulating the observations would be to give the values Et of the E.M.F. between o° C. and t for each metal against the standard. This involves no assumptions as to the law of variation of E.M.F. with temperature, but is somewhat cumbrous. In the See also:majority of cases it is found that the observations can be represented within the limits of experimental See also:error by a fairly simple empirical formula, at least for moderate ranges of temperatures. The following formulae are some of those employed for this purpose by different observers: (See also:Avenarius, 1863.) (General type.) (See also:Becquerel, 1863-) (Tait, 187o) (Barus, 1889.) (See also:Holborn and Wien, 1892.) (Paschen, 1893.) (See also:Steele, 1894.) (See also:Holman, 1896.) (See also:Stanfield, 1898.) (Holborn and See also:Day 1899.) See sec. 15.) (2) Et = bt +ct2 . . Et = at -I-bt2+ct3 . See also:log E=a+b/T+c log T Ep_i')=c(t-t') (2t°-(t+t')) Es +E,' =10.+bt+10al-FbIto t = aE+bE2 +cE3 E(t-t') = b (t-t') 4'3 E(t-t') = a(t-t') +b (let' )2 E(T-T°) =mTa--mT°a, Et =nit" Et=bt+c log T/273, (c=Ts.) Et =-a+bt+ct2 . Et=at+cl2+s°(T log T-273 log ,273). (Where s=s°+2cT, and c is small. wires. Noll employed mercury thermometers, but as he worked over a small range with vapour See also:baths, it is probable that he did not experience any trouble from See also:immersion corrections. He does not See also:record any systematic deviations from the formula. See also:Dewar and Fleming, working at very See also:low temperatures, were compelled to use the platinum thermometer, and expressed their results in terms of the platinum See also:scale. Their observations were probably See also:free from immersion errors, but they record some deviations from the formula which they consider to be beyond the possible limits of error of their work. The writer has reduced their results to the scale Holman (Phil. Mag., 41, p. 465, See also:June 1896). of the See also:gas thermometer, assuming the boiling-point of See also:oxygen to be 7. Experimental Results.-In the following See also:comparative table 1 -182.5° C. of the results of different observers the vaiues are referred to lead. I 9• See also:Peltier Effect.-The See also:discovery by J. C. A. Peltier (1834) Before the See also:time of Tait's researches such data were of little See also:interest or value, on account of insufficient care in securing the purity of the materials tested; but increased facilities in this respect, combined with See also:great improvements in electrical measurements, have put the question on a different footing. The comparison of independent results shows in many cases a remarkable See also:concordance, and the data are becoming of great value for the testing of various theories of the relations between heat and electricity. Metal. Tait (o° 3 to 00°). Steele (o° to xoo°). Noll o° to 200°). Dewar and Fleming ( (+ 100° to -200°). P. 2C. P. 2C. P. 2C. P. 2C. See also:Aluminium -0.56 +•0039 -0.42 *0021 -0.41 +•00174 -0.394 +•00398 See also:Antimony .. +42.83 +.1450* .. .. +3.210 *02817 See also:Bismuth -76.87o -.08480 See also:Cadmium . +4.75 +•0429 +4.79 +'0389 +4'71 +'0339 +4.792 +'02365 See also:Carbon +12.795 +•03251 Copper +1.81 * +•0095 +3.37 +•0122 +3.22 +•0080 +3.156 +•oo683 See also:Cobalt -19.252 -.0734 See also:Gold . +3.30 +.0102 +3.19 +.0131 +3•I0 +.0063 +1.161 +•00315 !Iron . . +14.74 -•0487 .. .. +11.835 -.0306 +14.522 -•01330 Steel (piano) +9.75 -.0328 .. .. .. .. +9.600 -.01092 Steel (Mn 12 %) -5.73 -'00445 See also:Magnesium +1.75* -.0095 • • .. -0.113 +•0019 -0.126 +•00353 Mercury . .. .. .. .. -4.03 -•oo86 See also:Nickel -24.23* -.0512 .. .. -20.58 -.0302 -18.87 -.05639 See also:Palladium -8.o4 -.0359 • • • • • • .. -9.100 -.04714 Platinum -1.15* -.olio .. -4.09 -•0211 -4'347 -'03708 See also:Silver. +2.86 +•0150 +3.07 +•0115 +2.68 +•0076 +3.317 +•00714 See also:Thallium . .. .. +1.76 -.0077 . See also:Tin -o•16 +•0055 -0.091 +•0004 -0.067 +.0019 +0.057 +.00021 See also:Zinc . +3.51 *0240 +1.77* +•0195 +3.318 +'0172 +3.233 +.01040 For moderate ranges of temperature the See also:binomial formula of M. P. Avenarius is generally sufficient, and has been employed by many observers. It is figured by Avenarius (Pogg. See also:Ann., 119, p. 406) as a semi-circle, but it is really a See also:parabola with its See also:axis parallel to the axis of E, and its vertex at the point 1= -b/2c, which gives the neutral temperature. We have also the relations dE/dt = b+2ct and d2E/dt2=2c. The first relation gives the thermoelectric power p at any temperature, and is probably the most convenient method of stating results in all cases in which this formula is applicable. A discussion of some of the exponential formulae is given by S. W. that heat is absorbed at the junction of two metals by passing a current through it in the same direction as the current produced by heating it, was recognized by See also:Joule as affording a See also:clue to the source of the See also:energy of the current by the application of the principles of See also:thermodynamics. Unlike the frictional See also:generation of heat due to the resistance of the conductor, which Joule (1841) Explanation of Table.-The figures marked with an See also:asterisk (*) represent discrepancies which are probably caused by impurities in the specimens. At the time of Tait's work in 1873 it was difficult, if not impossible, in many cases to secure pure materials. The work of the other three observers See also:dates from 1894-95. The value of the thermoelectric power dE/dt at 5o° C. is taken as the mean value between o° and Too° C., over which range it can be most accurately determined. The values of d2E/dt2 agree as well as can be expected, considering the difference of the ranges of temperature and the great variety in the methods of observation adopted; they are ca.culated assuming the parabolic formula, which is certainly in many cases inadequate. Noll's values apply to the temperature of +Too° C., Dewar and Fleming's to that of -Too° C., approximately. In using the above table to find the value of E or dE/dt at any temperature or between any limits, denoting by p the value of dE/dt at 5o° C., and by 2C the constant value of the second coefficient, we have the following equations:- dE/dt=p+2c(t-5o), at any temperature t, Cent. . . (3) E(at')=(t-t')(p+c(t+t'-See also:loo)) (4)
for the E.M.F. between any temperature t and t'.
8. Methods of Observation.-In Tait's observations the E.M.F. was measured by the deflection of a See also:mirror galvanometer, and the temperature by means of a mercury thermometer or an See also:auxiliary thermocouple. He states that the deviations from the formula were " quite within the See also:limb; of error introduced by the alteration of the resistance of the circuit with rise of temperature, the deviations of the mercury thermometers from the See also:absolute scale, and the non-correction of the indications of the thermometer for the long See also:column of mercury not immersed in the hot oil See also:round the junctions." The latter correction may amount to about To° C. at 350°. Later observers have generally employed a balance method (some modification of the See also:potentiometer or Poggendorf balance) for measuring the E.M.F. The range of Steele's observations was too small to show any certain deviation from the formula, but he notes capricious changes attributed to change of condition of theproved to be proportional to the square of the current, the Peltier effect is reversible with the current, and being directly proportional to the first power of the current, changes sign when the current is reversed. The effect is most easily shown by connecting a voltaic See also:cell to a thermopile for a See also:short See also:interval, then quickly (by means of a suitable See also: But on account of the difficulty of the measurements involved, the verification of the accurate relation between the Peltier effect and thermoelectric power was See also:left to more See also:recent times. If C is the intensity of the current through a simple thermocouple, the junctions of which are at temperatures t and t', a quantity of heat, P X C, is absorbed by the passage of the current per second at the hot junction, t, and a quantity, P' X C, is evolved at the cold junction, t'. The coefficients, P and P', are called coefficients of the Peltier effect, and may be stated in calories or joules per See also:ampere-second. The Peltier coefficient may also be expressed in volts or micro-volts, and may be regarded as the measure of an E.M.F. located at the junction, and transforming heat into electrical energy or See also:vice versa. If R is the whole resistance of the circuit, and E the E.M.F. of the couple, and if the flow of the current does not produce any other thermal effects in the circuit besides the Joule and Peltier effects, we should find by applying the principle of the conservation of energy, i.e. by equating the balance of the heat absorbed by the Peltier effects to the heat generated in the circuit by the Joule effect, (P-P')C=C2R=EC, whenceE=P—P' . . (5) If we might also regard the couple as a reversible thermodynamic See also:engine for converting heat into work, and might neglect irreversible effects, such as See also:conduction, which are independent of the current, we should expect to find the ratio of the heat absorbed at the hot junction to the heat evolved at the cold junction, namely, P/P', to be the same as the ratio T/T' of the absolute temperatures of the junctions. This would lead to the conclusion given by R. J. E. See also:Clausius (1853) that the Peltier effect varied directly as the absolute temperature, and that the E.M.F. of the couple should be directly proportional to the difference of temperature between the junctions. to. Thomson Effect.—Thomson (See also:Lord See also:Kelvin) had already pointed out (Prot. R.S. Edin., 1851) that this conclusion was in-consistent with the known facts of thermoelectric inversion. (I) The E.M.F. was not a linear function of the temperature difference. (2) If the Peltier effect was proportional to the thermoelectric power and changed sign with it, as all experiments appeared to indicate, there would be no absorption of heat in the circuit due to the 1 Peltier effect, and there-fore no thermal source to account for the energy of the current, in the case in which the hot junction was at or above the neutral temperature. He D therefore predicted that other See also:part of the circuit due to the flow of the current through the unequally heated conductors. He succeeded a few years afterwards in verifying this remarkable prediction by the experimental demonstration that a current of positive electricity flowing from hot to cold in iron produced an absorption of heat, as though it possessed negative specific heat in the metal iron. He also succeeded in showing that a current from hot to cold evolved heat in copper, but the effect was smaller and more difficult to observe than in iron. The Thomson effect may be readily demonstrated as a lecture experiment by the following method (fig. I). A piece of wire (No. 28) about 4 cm. long is soldered at either end A, B to thick wires (No. 12), and is heated toe to 15o° C. by a steady current from a storage cell adjusted by a suitable rheostat. The experimental wire AB is connected in parallel with about 2 metres of thicker wire (No. 22), which is not appreciably heated. A low-resistance galvanometer is connected by a very See also:fine wire (2 to 3 mils) to the centre C of the experimental wire AB, and also to the See also:middle point D of the parallel wire so as to form a See also:Wheatstone See also:bridge. The balance is adjusted by shunting either AD or BD with a See also:box, S, containing 20 to too ohms. All the wires in the See also:quadrilateral must be-of the same metal as AB, to avoid accidental thermoelectric effects which would obscure the result. If the current flows from A to B there will be heat absorbed in AC and evolved in CB by the Thomson effect, if the specific heat of electricity in AB is positive as in copper. When the current is reversed, the temperature of AC will be raised and that of CB lowered by the reversal of the effect. This will disturb the resistance balance by an amount which can be measured by the deflection of the galvanometer, or by the change of the shunt-box, S, required to restore the balance. Owing tb the mall See also:size of the experimentalwire, the method is very See also:quick and sensitive, and the apparatus can be set up in a few Minutes when once the experimental quadrilaterals have been made. It See also:works very well with platinum, iron and copper. It was applied with elaborate modifications by the writer in 1886 to determine the value of the Thomson effect in platinum in absolute measure, and has recently been applied with further improvements by R. O. See also: (7) Eliminating (s'—s") we find for the Peltier effect P=TdE/dT=Tp . (8) Whence we obtain for the difference of the specific heats (s'—s") = —Td2E/dT2= —Tdp/dT . (9) From these relations we observe that the Peltier effect P, and the difference of the Thomson effects (s'—s"), for any two metals are easily deduced from the tabulated values of dE/dt and d2E/dt2 respectively. The signs in the above equations are chosen on the See also:assumption that positive electricity flows from cold to hot in the metal s'. The signs of the Peltier and Thomson effects will be the same as the signs of the coefficients given in Table I., if we suppose the metal s' to be lead, and assume that the value of s' may be taken as zero at all temperatures. 12. Experimental Verification of' Thomson's Theory.—In order to justify the assumption involved In the application of the second law of thermodynamics to the theory of the thermocouple in the manner above specified, it would be necessary and sufficient, as Thomson pointed out (Phil. Mag., See also:December 1852), to make experiments to verify quantitatively the relation P/T=dE/dT between the Peltier effect and the thermoelectric power. A:qualitative relation was known at that time to exist, but no absolute measurements of sufficient accuracy had been made. The most accurate 'measurements of the heat absorption due to the Peltier effect at See also:present available are probably those of H. M. See also:Jahn (Wied. Ann., 34, p. 755, 1888). He enclosed various metallic junctions in a See also:Bunsen See also:ice calorimeter, and observed the See also:evolution of heat per See also:hour with a current of about 1.6 amperes in either direction. The Peltier effect was only a small fraction of the See also:total effect, but could be separated from the Joule effect owing to the reversal of the current. The values of dE/dT for the same specimens of metal at o° C. were determined by experiments between +2o° C. and -2o° C. The results of his observations are contained in the following table, heat absorbed being reckoned positive as in Table I. Thermo- dE/dT P=Td E/dT Heat See also:talc. Heat observed couple. Microvolts Microvolts Calories - Calories per deg. at o° C. per hour. per hour. Cu-Ag +2.12 +579 +0.495 +0.413 Cu-Fe +II.28 +3079 +2.640 +3.163 Cu-Pt -1.40 -382 -0.327 -0.320 Cu-Zn +1.51 +412 +0.353 +0.585 Cu-Cd +2.64 +721 +0.617 +o•616 Cu-Ni -20.03 -5468 -4.68o -4.362 The agreement between the observed and calculated values in the last two columns is as See also:good as can be expected considering the great difficulty of measuring such small quantities of heat. The analogous reversible heat effects which occur at the junction of a metal and an electrolyte were also investigated by Jahn, but he did not succeed in obtaining so See also:complete an agreement with theory in this case. 13. Tait's See also:Hypothesis.—From general considerations concerning minimum dissipation of energy (Proc. R. S. Edin., 1867-68), Tait was led to the conclusion that " the thermal and electric conductivities of metals varied inversely as the absolute temperature, and that the specific heat of electricity was directly proportional to the same." Subsequent experiments led him to doubt this conclusion as regards conductivity, but his thermoelectric experiments (Proc. R. S. Edin., December 187o) appeared to be in good agreement with it. If we adopt this hypothesis, and substitute s= 2cT, where c is a constant, in the fundamental See also:equation (9), we obtain at once d2E/dT2= -2 (c'—c"), which is immediately integrable, and gives dE/dt=p=2(t,—t) (c'—c") (,o) Ese,'=(t—t') (c'—c") 12to—(t-i-t')1 . '. . (II) where to is the temperature of the neutral point at which dE/dt=o. This is the equation to a parabola, and is equivalent to the empirical formula of Avenarius, with this difference, that in Tait's formula the constants have all a simple and See also:direct See also:interpretation in relation to the theory. Tait's theory and formula were subsequently assimilated by Avenarius (Pogg. Ann., 149, p. 372, 1873), and are now generally attributed to Avenarius in See also:foreign See also:periodicals. In accordance with this hypothesis, the curves representing the variations of thermoelectric power, dE/dt, with temperature •1 0 -1 0 -1 .S0 .lb 0 10 20 0Observat'oasofHotborn6Wien. +ObserrallonaglPta.Pj rl%ry) Tait's Formula. are straight lines, the slope of which for any couple is equal to the difference of the constants 2(c'—c"). The See also:diagram constructed by Tait on this principle is fully explained and illustrated in many See also:text-books, and has been generally adopted as embodying in a simple form the fundamental phenomena of thermoelectricity. 14. Experimental Verification.—Tait's verification of this hypo-thesis consisted in showing that the experimental curves of E.M.F. were parabolas in most cases within the limits of error of his observations. He records, however, certain notable divergencies, particularly in the case of iron and nickel, and many others have since come to See also:light from other observations. It should also be remarked that even if the curves were not parabolas, it would always be possible to draw parabolas to agree closely with the observations over a restricted range of temperature. When the question is tested more carefully, either by taking more accurate measurements of temperature, or by extending the observations over a wider range, it is found that there are systematic deviations from the parabola in the majority of cases, which cannot be explained by errors of experiment. A more accurate verification of these relations, both at high and low extremes of temperature, has become possible of See also:late gears owing to the development of the theory and application of the platinum resistance thermometer. (See See also:THERMOMETRY.) The curves in fig. 2 illustrate the differences from the parabolic formula, measured in degrees of temperature, as observed by H. M. Tory (B.A. See also:Report, 1897). The deviations for the copper-iron couple, and for the copper See also:cast-iron couple over the range o° to 200° C., appear to be of the order of I° C., and were carefully verified by repeated and independent series of observations. The deviations of the platinum and platinum-See also:rhodium to per cent.couple over the range o° to moo° C. are shown on a smaller scale, and are seen to be of a similar nature, but rather greater in See also:pro-portion. It should be observed that these deviations are continuous, and differ in See also:character from the abrupt changes observed by Tait in special cases. A number of similar deviations at temperatures below o° C. were found by the writer in reducing the curves representing the observations of Dewar and Fleming (Phil. Mag., See also:July 1895) to the normal scale of temperature from the platinum scale in which they are recorded. In many cases the deviations do not appear to favour any simple hypothesis as to the mode of variation of s with temperature, but as a See also:rule the indication is that s is nearly constant, or even diminishes with rise of temperature. It may be interesting therefore to consider the effect of one or two other simple hypotheses with regard to the mode of variation of s with T. 15. Other Assumptions.—If we take the See also:analogy of a perfect gas and assume s =constant, we have dE2/dT2 = -s/T, dE/dT =s log ,To/T (12) E(T—T')=ST log ,To/T—sT"log ,To/T . . (13) where T and T' are the temperatures of the junctions, and T. is the neutral temperature. These formulae are not so simple and convenient as Tait's, though apparently founded on a more simple assumption, but they frequently represent the observations more closely. If. we suppose that s is not quite constant, but increases or diminishes slightly with change of temperature according to a linear formula s=s0+2cT (in which so represents the constant part of s, and c may have either sign), we obtain a more general formula which is evidently the sum of the two previous solutions and may be made to See also:cover a greater variety of cases. Another simple and possible assumption is that made by A. Stansfield (Phil. Mag., July 1898), that the value of s varies inversely as the absolute temperature. Putting s=c/T, we obtain E(T-T')=c log ,T/T'—c(T—T')/To . (14) which is equivalent to the form given by Stansfield, but with the neutral temperature To explicitly included. According to this formula, the Peltier effect is a linear function of the temperature. It may appear at first sight astonishing that it should be possible to apply so many different assumptions to the See also:solution of one and the same problem. In many cases a formula of the last type would be quite inapplicable, as Stansfield remarks, but the difference between the three is often much less than might be supposed. For instance, in the case of to per cent. Rh. Pt.—Pt. couple, if we calculate three formulae of the above types to satisfy the same pair of observations at 0°—445° and o°—l000° C., we shall find that the formula s=constant lies midway between that of Tait and that of Stansfield, but the difference between the formulae is of the same order as that between different observers. In this particular case the parabolic `formula appears to be undoubtedly inadequate. The writer's observations agree more nearly with the assumption s=constant, these of Stansfield with s=c/T. Many other formulae have been suggested. L. F. C. Holborn and A. Day (Berl. Akad., 1899) have gone back to Tait's method at high temperatures, employing arcs of parabolas for limited ranges. But since the parabolic formula is certainly erroneous at low temperatures, it can hardly be trusted for extrapolation above loon° C. 16. Absolute Measurement of Thomson Effect.—Another method of verifying Tait's hypothesis, of greater difficulty but of considerable interest, is to measure the absolute value of the heat absorbed by the Thomson effect, and to observe whether or not it varies with the temperature. Le Roux (Ann. Chim. Phys., x. p. 201, 1867) made a number of relative measurements of the effect in different metals, which agreed qualitatively with observations of the thermoelectric power, and showed that the effect was proportional to the current for a given temperature gradient. Batelli has applied the same method (Accad. Sci. See also:Turin, 1886) to the absolute measurement. He observed with a thermocouple the difference of temperature (about •01° C.) produced by the Thomson effect in twenty minutes between two mercury calorimeters, Bl and B2, surrounding the central portions of a pair of rods arranged as in Le Roux's method (see fig. 3). The value of the Thomson t effect was calculated by multiplying this difference of temperature by the thermal capacity of either calorimeter, and dividing by the current, by the number of seconds in twenty minutes, and by twice the difference of temperature (about 200) between the ends a and b of either calorimeter. The method appears to be open to the objection that, the difference of temperature reached in so long an interval would be more or less independent of the thermal Copps Cr srllr n FAMPI See also:iiiiiI± 0 d Bs C See also:Cole E"p r.montal See also:Bar Chamber Bt IbrChamber b a. ' a.p,ti.wr capacities of the calorimeters, and would also be difficult to measure accurately with a thermocouple under the conditions described. The general results of the work appeared to support Tait's hypo-thesis that the effect was proportional to the absolute temperature, but direct thermoelectric tests do not appear to have been made on the specimens employed, which would have afforded a valuable See also:confirmation by the comparison of the values of d2E/dT2, as in Jahn's experiments. 17. King's Experiments.—The method employed by the writer, to which allusion has already been made, consisted in observing the change of distribution of temperature in terms of the resistance along a wire heated by an electric current, when the heating current was reversed. It has been fully described by King (Prot. Amer. Acad., June 1898), who applied it most successfully to the case of copper. Although the effect in copper is so small, he succeeded in obtaining changes of temperature due to the Thomson effect of the order of 1° C., which could be measured with satisfactory accuracy. He also determined the effect of change of temperature distribution on the See also:rate of generation of heat by the current; and on the See also:external loss of heat by See also:radiation, convection and conduction. It is necessary to take all these conditions care-fully into account in calculating the balance due to the Thomson effect. According to King's experiments, the value of the effect /eon 3.-9.89 4000 2000 Gadm^u I.,0 95. Fe I184 Cd +471se E 0' PT409s E Platinum -6.90 M 0 0000 8000 O' 20' 40° 60° 80' too` appears to diminish with rise of temperature to a slight extent in copper, but the diminution is so small that he does not regard it as established with certainty. The value found at a temperature of 150° C. was +2.5 microjoules per ampere-second per degree, or +2.5 microvolts per degree in the case of copper, which agrees very fairly with the value deduced from thermoelectric tests. The value found by Batelli for iron was -5•o microvolts per degree at lo8° C., which appears too small in comparison. These measurements, though subject to some uncertainty on account of the great experimental difficulties, are a very valuable confirmation of the accuracy of Thomson's theory, because they show that the magnitude of the effect is of the required order, but they cannot be said to be strongly in support of Tait's hypothesis. A comparison of the results of different observers would also suggest that the law of variation may be different in different metals, although the differences in the values of d2EldP may be due in part to differences of purity or errors of observation. It would appear, for instance, according to the observations of Dewar and Fleming, that the value of s for iron is positive below -150° C., at which point it vanishes. At ordinary temperatures the value is negative, increasing rapidly in the negative direction as the temperature rises. This might be appropriately represented, as already suggested, by a linear formula s=so—cT. 18. Potential Diagrams on the Contact Theory.—It is instructive' to consider the distribution of potential in a thermoelectric circuit, and its relation to the resultant E.M.F. and to the seat of the E.M.F. In fig. 4, which is given as an See also:illustration, the cold junctions are supposed to be at o° C. and the hot junctions at loo° C. Noll's values (Table I.) are taken for the E.M.F., and it is supposed that the coefficient of the Thomson effect is zero in lead, i.e. that there is no E.M.F. and that the potential is uniform throughoutthe length of the lead wire. Taking the lead-iron couple as an example, the value of dE/dt at the hot junction too° C. is 10.305 microvolts per degree, and the value of the Peltier coefficient P = TdE/dT is +3844 microvolts. In other words, we may suppose that there is an E.M.F. of that magnitude situated at the junction which causes positive electricity to flow from the lead to the iron. If the circuit is open, as represented in the diagram, the flow will cease as soon as it has raised the potential of the iron 3844 micro-volts above that of the lead. In the substance of the iron itself there is an E.M.F. due to the Thomson effect of about to micro-volts per degree tending to drive positive electricity from hot to cold, and raising the cold end of the iron 989 microvolts in potential above the hot end on open circuit. At the cold junction the iron is supposed to be connected to a piece of lead at 0° C., and there is a sudden drop of potential due to the Peltier effect of 3648 micro-volts. If the circuit is cut at this point, there remains a difference of potential E=1184 microvolts, the resultant E.M.F. of the circuit, tending to drive positive electricity from the iron to the lead across the cold junction. If the circuit is closed, there will be a current C=E/R, where R=R'+R", the sum of the resistances of the lead and iron. The flow of the current will produce a fall of potential ER'/R in the lead from cold to hot, and ER"/R in the iron from hot to cold, but the potential difference due to the Peltier effect at either junction will not be affected. For simplicity in the diagram the temperature gradient has been taken as uniform, and the specific heat s=constant, but the total P.D. would be the same whatever the gradient. Similar diagrams are given in fig. 4 for cadmium in which both the specific heat and the Peltier effect are positive, and also for platinum and nickel in which both coefficients are negative. The metals are supposed to be all joined together at the hot junction, and the circuit cut in the lead near the cold junction. The diagram will serve for any selected couple, such as iron-nickel, and is not restricted to combinations with lead. The following table shows the component parts of the E.M.F. in each case: Thermocouple. Pao — —P° —xooXs~ Fb_,~ Iron-lead +3844— +3648— -988= +1184 Cadmium-lead. +2389— +823— +1095= +471 Platinum-lead. -1919— -828— -682= -409 Nickel-lead -8239— -5206— -975= -2058 The components for any other See also:combination of two are found by taking the algebraic difference of the values with respect to lead. 1g. Relation to the Volta Effect.—It is now generally conceded that the relatively large differences of potential observable with an electrometer between metals on open circuit, as discovered by Volta, are due to the chemical See also:affinities of the metals, and have no direct relation to thermoelectric phenomena or to the Peltier effect. The order of the metals in respect of the two effects is quite different. The potential difference, due to the Volta effect in See also:air, has been shown by Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and his pupils to be of the same order of magnitude, if not absolutely the same, as that produced in a dilute electrolyte in which two metallically connected plates (e.g. zinc and copper) are immersed. (On this hypothesis, it may be explained by regarding the air as an electrolyte of See also:infinite specific resistance.) It is also profoundly modified by the state of the exposed surfaces, a coating of See also:oxide on the copper greatly increasing the effect, as it would in a voltaic cell. The Peltier effect and the thermo-E.M.F., on the other See also:hand, do not depend on the state of the surfaces, but only on the state of the substance. An See also:attempt has been made to explain the Volta effect as due to the See also:affinity of the metals for each other, but that would not account for the variation of the effect with the state of the See also:surface, except as affecting the actual surface of contact. It is equally evident that chemical affinity between the metals cannot be the explanation of the Peltier E.M.F. This would necessitate chemical See also:action at the junction when a current passed through it, as in an electrolytic cell, whereas the action appears to be purely thermal, and leads to a consistent theory on that hypothesis. The chemical action between metals in the solid state must be infinitesimal, and could only suffice to produce small charges analogous to those of frictional electricity; it could not maintain a permanent difference of potential at a metallic junction through which a current was passing. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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