A measurement of the Thomson coefficient formula_17, which expresses the strength of the Thomson effect, can be used to yield the absolute Seebeck coefficient through the relation: formula_18, provided that formula_17 is measured down to absolute zero. The reason this works is that formula_20 is expected to decrease to zero as the temperature is brought to zero—a consequence of Nernst's theorem. Such a measurement based on the integration of formula_21 was published in 1932, though it relied on the interpolation of the Thomson coefficient in certain regions of temperature.