David wrote:
Can anyone explain why commercial instruments use DC, despite that small DC voltages will be developed by unwanted thermocouples? I would have thought that using AC was a no-brainer no very low resistance measurements, but commercial instruments don't use to use AC.
Difficulty of measuring AC, compared to DC, is one reason, as has been mentioned. But the main reason is that skin effect (and usually to a much lesser extent, inductance) is a significant factor at surprisingly low frequencies, *particularly* when the expected value is in the micro- to deci-ohm range.
Also, since you said the waveguide is aluminum (and didn't say anything about plating), be aware that aluminum exposed to air is covered by a thin aluminum oxide layer (Al2O3), which forms within seconds after a new surface is exposed. This layer is thin -- generally about 4 nm -- but the bulk resistivity of Al2O3 is very high, so there is a finite and variable resistance across the interface between two joined pieces of aluminum (depending on the area of the joint, the joining pressure, and the extent to which the joining method produces a clean [oxide-free], gas-tight interface between the joined surfaces).
Best regards, Charles _______________________________________________ volt-nuts mailing list -- volt-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts and follow the instructions there.
