Determining the temperature-dependent characteristic temperature of beryllium from electrical resistance measurements

We have developed an intermediate‐level laboratory experiment to determine the temperature‐ dependent characteristic temperature of beryllium. The apparatus used to measure the resistance of a beryllium wire sample between liquid nitrogen and room temperatures was simple. The characteristic temperatures obtained from these data using the Block–Gruneisen model are in reasonable agreement with literature values obtained from resistivity and heat capacity experiments. The experiment introduced students to cryogenic and computer data analysis techniques and forced them to extend their knowledge of the theory of electrical resistance and of characteristic temperatures.