PHYSICS

INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT

THERMOCOUPLE
(SEEBECK EFFECT)
BY:-
NAME - HARDIK KHARE
CLASS - XII A

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This is to certify that, Hardik Khare, of grade XII, Study
the research project on the topic “STUDY OF
VALIDITY OF SEEBECK EFFECT FOR A COPPER
ALUMINIUM THERMOCOUPLE” under the guidance
of Mr.Anant Mishra (Physics Teacher) and as per the
guidelines of the Central Board of Secondary Education.

Signature of the
Teacher In-Charge
Signature of the
Principal
Signature of the
External Examiner

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I would like to take this opportunity to express
my deep sense of gratitude to all those people
without whom this project could have never
been completed. First and foremost, I’d like to
thank my parents for their inexhaustible source
of inspiration.
I would like to thank my Principal Mrs.Shalini
Sinha and school for providing me with the
facilities required to complete this project.
I am highly indebted to my Physics teacher
Mr.Anant Mishra for his invaluable guidance
which has sustained my efforts in all the stages
of this project work.
My thanks and appreciation goes out to my
fellow classmates and to the people who have
willingly helped me out with this project to the
best of their abilities.

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Typical low-cost type K thermo-couple (with the standard type
K connector). While the wires can survive and function at high
temperatures, the plastic insulation will start to breakdown at
300`C.

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The Seebeck effect is the conversion of temperature differences
directly into electricity and is named after the Baltic German
physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck.
Seebeck, in 1821, discovered that a compass needle would be
deflected by a closed loop formed by two different metals joined
in two places, with a temperature difference between the
junctions. This was because the metals responded to the
temperature difference in different ways, creating a current loop
and a magnetic field.
Seebeck did not recognize there was an electric current involved,
so he called the phenomenon asthermomagnetic effect. Danish
physicist Hans Christian Oersted rectified the mistake and
coined the term "thermo electricity".
The Seebeck effect is a classic example of an electromotive
force (emf) and leads to measurable currents or voltages in the
same way as any other emf. Electromotive forces modify Ohm's
law by generating currents even in the absence of voltage
differences (or vice versa).

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The Figure shows two metallic strips, made of different
metals and joined at the ends to form a loop. If the
junctions are kept at different temperatures, there is an
electric current in the loop.The magnitude and the
direction of the emf depend on the metals and the
temperatures of the hot and cold junctions. Such a
combination of two metals is called a thermo-couple.

The following graph shows the free energy variations of

a thermo-couple in Seebeck experiment.

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1. Measurement of temperature by thermo-electric
thermometer.
2. Thermo-electric Refrigerator
3. Detection of heat radiation by thermo-pile.

1. If a thermo-couple is formed of wires of any two

metals from the series, the direction of current is from
a metal occurring earlier in the series to the metal
occurring latter in the series.
2. More the two metals are separated in series, the greater
is the thermo e.m.f. produced in the thermo-couple.
3. Temperature of hot junction of which the thermo e.m.f.
produced in a thermo-couple become maximum called
neutral temperature. For a given thermo-couple it is a
fixed temperature. This is important features of
Thermo-electric Effects.
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4. Temperature of inversion is the temperature of hot
junction at which the thermo e.m.f. reverses its
direction for a given thermo-couple, it changes with
temperature of the cold junction.
5. Seebeck effect is reversible effect.
6. At neutral temperature thermo e.m.f. is maximum.

Thermo-couple connection n gas appliances. The end

ball(contact) on the left is insulated from fitting by and
insulating washer. The thermo-couple line consists of copper
wire, insulator and outer metal (usually copper) sheath which is
also used as thermo-couple plate.

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Let us consider a thermo-couple of two metals Fe and Cu.Their
junctions are kept cold and hot. If a galvanometer G is
connected in the circuit the galvanometer deflection is observed
which corresponds to thermo-electric current. If the temperature
of the hot junction be continuously increased, thermo-electric
current increases until maximum value is reached. The
temperature of the hot junction at which maximum current flows
is constant for a given thermo-couple. It is independent of the
temperature of cold junction and is called the neutral
temperature, for the couple. On further increasing the
temperature of hot junction the current decreases to zero and is
then reversed. The temperature at which the current is zero and
its reversal begins is called inversion temperature. It depends on
the temperature of cold junction and the chosen couple. It is
always as much above the neutral temperature as the cold
junction is below it. Thus,
Ti (+/-)Tn = Tn(+/-)Tc
Here, Ti = inversion temperature
Tn = neutral temperature
Tc = cold inversion temperature

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The graph between the emf and the temperature difference of
the two junction is of the parabolic form of majority of couples.
Thus, emf can be given as,
e = a + bt + ct2

Thermo-couple characteristic at low temperatures. The

Au-Fe-based thermo-couple shows a steady sensitivity down to
low temperatures, whereas conventional types soon flatten out
and lose sensitivity at low temperature.

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 Take two copper wires AB and CD and an aluminium wire
EF.
 Connect the wires AB and CD through a multimeter.
 The ends A and D are tied with the ends E and F of
aluminium wire.
 The tied wires are kept in hot and cold junction. Candles and
ice cubes act as heat source, heat sink respectively.
 Now the multimeter shows deflection.
 After a little time, the multimeter deflection goes dull and
finally stops. This phenomena takes place because after a
little time the temperature difference becomes negligible,
since, the entire plate heats up.

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K-type thermo-couple(chromel-alumel) in the standard
thermo-couple measurement configuration. The measured
voltage V can be used to calculate temperature Tsense, provided
that temperature Tref is known.

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