by Xiaoke Yan, et al.
The influence of impurities on the shape of the freezing curves of the triple point of water (TPW) in three small TPW cells was investigated using the freezing curve analysis method. We describe the procedure for preparing outer ice mantles in small TPW cells, for obtaining freezing plateaus, and for comparing the results between the old cell (s/n: 021) and the new cells (s/n: 001 and s/n: 008). The experimental results show that the maximum influence of impurities on the observed phase-transition temperature of water in the cell (s/n: 021) is approximately 0.2 mK below the peak temperature of the freezing plateau during freezing. Also, jagged temperature fluctuations were observed near the end of the freezing plateau in the old cell. However, these phenomena did not appear in the freezing plateaus of the new small cells. The equilibrium temperature realized with the old cell is 2.3 mK lower than that of the new cells, possibly due to excessive residual air. Therefore, assessing the effects of impurities on the TPW using an outer sheath method similar to that used in obtaining the fixed points of other metals is useful. Additionally, an estimated total mole fraction impurity concentration can be determined using Raoult’s Law and the first cryoscopic constant for water.
