The traditional approach to temperature calibration is to send temperature probes and thermometers to a calibration laboratory. There the temperature instruments are placed in calibration baths and compared to higher-accuracy temperature standards whose values are traceable to national or international standards (i.e. NIST-traceable). This method produces excellent results, can be used with almost any thermometer and can accommodate a high degree of through put.
There are a few reasons that baths are often the first choice.
Calibration baths provide a very stable and uniform temperature environment. Stability refers to temperatures remaining constant over time and uniformity refers to the sameness of temperature vertically and horizontally throughout the working region of the calibration bath.
Owing to the exceptional stability and uniformity of a calibration bath, they provide the lowest uncertainties possible for comparison calibrations.
Calibration baths are compatible with the widest variety of temperature probes. They can accommodate many shapes and sizes and provide sufficient immersion to assure that both the temperature probes and the temperature standard are at the same temperature.
Calibration baths are an excellent choice for calibration of many temperature probes in one batch due to the large access openings.
