title: The gallium melting-point standard: its role in manufacture and quality control of electronic thermometers for the clinical laboratory.
abstract: I discuss the traceability of calibration of electronic thermometers to thermometric constants of nature or to the National Bureau of Standards, form a manufacturer's basic standards through the manufacturing process to the user's laboratory. Useful electrical temperature sensors, their advantages, and means for resolving their disadvantages are described. I summarize our development of a cell for realizing the melting phase equilibrium of pure gallium (at 29.770 degrees C) as a thermometer calibration fixed point, and enumerate its advantages in the routine calibration verification of electrical thermometers in the clinical chemistry laboratory.
mesh_terms: D002624:Chemistry, Clinical; D005708:Gallium; D007753:Laboratories; D011786:Quality Control; D013696:Temperature; D013821:Thermometers / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D005708:Gallium