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The lower limit to a practical measurable span is investigated for pressure sensors that have a silicon diaphragm with circular shape and employ piezoresistive gages. Output voltages and non-linearities of the sensors are analysed, taking into account the effects of the diaphragm's large deflection and the piezoresistive effect non-linearities. Based on this analysis and industrial requirements (the minimum span output voltage must be larger than 4.3 mV V-1 and non-linearities must be within +or-0.2% at the same time), it is found that the minimum span is 15 kPa.

The theory of the premelting phenomena in ionic crystals has been developed on the basis of the concept of heterophase fluctuation in the vicinity of their melting points. The size of the liquid-like clusters is estimated by the theory using the experimental specific heat value. Molecular dynamics simulations are also performed in NaCl and AgBr crystals to examine the ionic configuration in the premelting region. The structural features are discussed using the Lindemann instability criterion.