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Homework Statement
ti[/B]A resistance thermometer, which measures temperature by measuring the change in resistance of a conductor, is made of platinum and has a resistance of 50.0 Ohms? at 20.0°C. (a) When the device is immersed in a vessel containing melting indium, its resistance increases to 76.8 Ohms?. From this information, find the melting point of indium.
(b) The indium is heated further until it reaches a temperature of 235°C. What is the ratio of the new current in the platinum to the current Imp at the melting point?
Homework Equations
## R = R_0 [1+\alpha(T-T_0)] ##
##\alpha_{plat} = 3.92 \cdot 10^{-3}##
The Attempt at a Solution
For part (a), the answer is 157 degrees Celsius. (Says in the book as well)
Now, I'm getting 2 different answers for part (b) when using ## T_0 = 20## and ##T_0 = 157##.
When ##T_0 = 20##, the final resistance is ##50[1+\alpha \cdot 215] = 92.14##
When ##T_0 = 157##, the final resistance is ##76.8[1+\alpha \cdot 78] = 100.2##
Why the large discrepancy with calculating the same thing? (The 2nd one is correct, per the book)
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