Lab slang for the waiting period that lets an item settle to lab temperature, or an instrument warm up, before it is measured. Gauge blocks and large parts may soak on a granite plate for hours, mass standards are left to equilibrate before weighing, and precision meters and calibrators need a warm-up of an hour or more. Skipping the soak puts unmodeled thermal error into every reading.
That ring gauge came straight off the truck, let it soak overnight before you touch it.
Also heard as
- thermal soak
- soak time
- normalize
- stabilize
Related terms
Reference temperature
The standard temperature at which a quantity is specified, 20 degrees C for dimensional measurements.
Influence quantity
A condition that is not the thing being measured but still changes the reading, such as temperature or humidity.
Stability
The ability of an instrument or standard to hold its calibrated values as the weeks and months pass.
Jo blocks
Shop name for gauge blocks, precision steel or ceramic blocks wrung together to build reference lengths.