Accurate measurement of thermal expansion of solids between 77 K and 350 K by 3-terminal capacitance method

The construction of a three-terminal capacitance cell and a bath type cryostat to measure thermal expansion of solids in the temperature range 77 K to 350 K is described. Calculation of the thermal expansion coefficients by using spline approximation is discussed along with the various errors involved in the measurement. The capacitance cell is calibrated by using aluminium and germanium as standard reference materials. The cell has an accuracy of 4% in the measurement of thermal expansion coefficient and a resolution of 1 Å change in length of sample of length 1 cm.