A dilatometer can be used to determine the linear thermal expansion of a material as a function of temperature. The temperature range of the measurement is from 25 °C to 1600 °C , but there is also an option to test in cryogenic atmosphere, which ranges from –175 °C to 300 °C. The typical heating rate is 3 °C / min. As a result from this measurement you will get the coefficient of thermal expansion and the absolute change in sample length both as a function of temperature. The testing can be done in various atmospheres, such as air, Argon, CO₂, N₂ and O₂.