1.1 This test method covers the determination of the linear thermal expansion of rigid solid materials using push-rod dilatometers. This method is applicable over any practical temperature range where a device can be constructed to satisfy the performance requirements set forth in this standard. Note 1: Initially, this method was developed for vitreous silica dilatometers operating over a temperature range of –180°C to 900°C. The concepts and principles have been amply documented in the literature to be equally applicable for operating at higher temperatures. The precision and bias of these systems is believed to be of the same order as that for silica systems up to 900°C. However, their precision and bias have not yet been established over the relevant total range of temperature due to the lack of well-characterized reference materials and the need for interlaboratory comparisons. 1.2 For this purpose, a rigid solid is defined as a material that, at test temperature and under the stresses imposed by instrumentation, has a negligible creep or elastic strain rate, or both, thus insignificantly affecting the precision of thermal-length change measurements. This includes, as examples, metals, ceramics, refractories, glasses, rocks and minerals, graphites, plastics, cements, cured mortars, woods, and a variety of composites. 1.3 The precision of this comparative test method is higher than that of other push-rod dilatometry techniques (for example, Test Method