Weston cell
Noun: 1. A type of standard voltaic cell: The Weston cell is a primary cell (a type of battery) used historically as a precise voltage standard in laboratories. It produces a very stable and reproducible electromotive force (EMF), which made it the international standard for the volt from 1911 until superseded by more modern standards.
The term "Weston cell" is used as a countable noun to refer to this specific scientific instrument. It is a technical term primarily used in the fields of metrology (the science of measurement), electrical engineering, and physics. * The laboratory's voltage measurements were calibrated against a Weston cell. * A Weston cell provides an extremely stable reference voltage of approximately 1.018638 volts at 20 degrees Celsius.
- "Saturated Weston cell": The most common and stable type, which uses a saturated cadmium sulfate solution.
- "Unsaturated Weston cell": A variant with a lower temperature coefficient, but slightly less stable over long periods than the saturated type.
- Standard cell (n): A general term for any electrochemical cell that maintains a constant and reproducible voltage, used as a standard. The Weston cell is a specific, famous type of standard cell.
- Cadmium cell (n): Another name for the Weston cell, derived from its use of a cadmium amalgam electrode.
- Cadmium standard cell
- Standard voltaic cell (in the specific context of being a voltage reference)
- The name "Weston" is a trademark derived from its inventor, Edward Weston.
- While crucial for historical scientific precision, the Weston cell has been largely replaced in modern metrology by quantum-mechanical standards like the Josephson junction.
- a standard voltaic cell (trademark Weston)