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An important note
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ITS-90 Text

Contents

1. Units of Temperature and Introduction from Metrologia 27, 3-10 (1990)
2. Principles of the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90)
3. Definition of the International Temperature Scale of 1990
4. Supplementary Information and Differences from Earlier Scales & Appendix

• List of Tables

2. Principles of the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90)

The ITS-90 extends upwards from 0.65 K to the highest temperature practicably measurable in terms of the Planck radiation law using monochromatic radiation. The ITS-90 comprises a number of ranges and sub-ranges throughout each of which temperatures T₉₀ are defined. Several of these ranges or sub-ranges overlap, and where such overlapping occurs, differing definitions of T₉₀ exist: these differing definitions have equal status. For measurements of the very highest precision there may be detectable numerical differences between measurements made at the same temperature but in accordance with differing definitions. Similarly, even using one definition, at a temperature between defining fixed points two acceptable interpolating instruments (e.g. resistance thermometers) may give detectably differing numerical values of T₉₀. In virtually all cases these differences are of negligible practical importance and are at the minimum level consistent with a scale of no more than reasonable complexity: for further information on this point, see "Supplementary Information for the ITS-90" (BIPM-1990).

The ITS-90 has been constructed in such a way that, throughout its range, for any given temperature the numerical value of T₉₀ is a close approximation to the numerical value of T according to best estimates at the time the scale was adopted. By comparison with direct measurements of thermodynamic temperatures, measurements of T₉₀ are more easily made, are more precise and are highly reproducible.

There are significant numerical differences between the values of T₉₀ and the corresponding values of T₆₈ measured on the International Practical Temperature Scale of 1968 (IPTS-68), see Fig. 1 and Table 6. Similarly there were differences between the IPTS-68 and the International Practical Temperature Scale of 1948 (IPTS-48), and between the International Temperature Scale of 1948 (ITS-48) and the International Temperature Scale of 1927 (ITS-27). See the Appendix and, for more detailed information, "Supplementary Information for the ITS-90".

FIG. 1. The differences (t₉₀ - t₆₈) as a function of Celsius temperature

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