Conductivity cell electrode enclosure

An electrode enclosure for a fluid conductivity cell in which a current is passed between electrodes proportional to the conductivity of fluid introduced into the enclosure comprising a housing having a chamber, a pair of electrodes securely positioned in said chamber with a predetermined spacing, said chamber having electrically nonconductive walls having at least one aperture formed in a wall of said chamber for the ingress and egress of fluid, with said aperture in the chamber being located relative to said electrodes to be substantially coincident with at least a portion of a line of equipotential established at the inside surface of said chamber when a voltage is applied to the electrode and said aperture having a dimension measured transverse to such line of equipotential, which dimension is small in comparison with the electrode spacing to provide a negligible voltage drop across any dimension of said aperture, thereby substantially confining the conduction of current to the chamber of said housing.

A conductivity cell for current measurement in a fluid having a given surface tension, the cell comprising:

• a pair of electrodes spaced from each other having lines of equipotential between them when voltage is applied thereto;
• means connected to said electrodes for providing mechanical support and electrical conduction thereto;
• an enclosure having electrically nonconducting walls penetrated by and secured to the means to support and conduct, said enclosure having at least one aperture formed therein located symmetrically with respect to each of said pair of electrodes to confine to the interior of said enclosure the conduction of current between said electrodes in response to a voltage potential impressed upon said means to support and conduct, with said aperture having a width less than the width of film capable of supporting the column of fluid determined by the dimensions of the enclosure for a fluid of such surface tension, thereby containing fluid in said enclosure by surface tension of said fluid across said aperture.

An electrode enclosure for a fluid conductive cell for measuring conductivity of a fluid having a given surface tension, in which enclosure a current is passed between electrodes proportional to the conductivity of fluid introduced into the enclosure, comprising

• a housing having a chamber,
• a pair of spaced electrodes positioned in said chamber, said chamber having electrically nonconducting walls and having at least one aperture formed in a wall of said chamber for the ingress and egress of fluid, with said aperture in a wall being located relative to said electrodes to be substantially coincident with at least a portion of a line of equipotential established at the inside surface of said chamber when a voltage is applied to the electrodes, to provide a negligible voltage drop across any dimension of said aperture and the width of said aperture measured transverse to such lines of equipotential is no greater than the width of a surface film capable of supporting fluid of such surface tension in said aperture, thereby substantially confining the conduction of current to the chamber of said housing and containing the fluid in said chamber.

A conductivity cell for current measurement in a fluid having a given surface tension, the cell comprising:

• a pair of electrodes;
• means connected to said electrodes for providing mechanical support and electrical conduction thereto;
• an enclosure having electrically nonconducting walls penetrated by and secured to the means to support and conduct, said enclosure surrounding said electrodes and having at least one aperture formed therein located symmetrically with respect to each of said pair of electrodes to confine to the interior of said enclosure the conduction of current between said electrodes in response to a voltage potential impressed on said means to support and conduct, with said aperture sufficiently narrow to contain fluid in said enclosure by surface tension of said fluid across said aperture.