Why do we allow electronic instruments to warm-up before use?

Question

Why do we allow electronic instruments to warm-up before use?

Answer 1

properties (eg resistance, capacitance..) of electrical components change with
temperature. Particularly so for older instruments that dissipated a lot of heat. so, if you want to get steady performance, wait until thermal steady state is
achieved. Otherwise, you will constantly be adjusting things...and then a few moments later
the performance of the instrument will change anyway. the termal steady-state condition is also probably the design state of the instrument.

Answer 2

warmup may not be the right term. Some devices do need a bit of time to stabilize thermally but this is getting less common as instruments are made which use less and less power. Many devices now go through a functional precheck before being ready to use, some self calibrate and some take a sample of some ambient condition (temp, oxygen content of the air, etc.) and that takes a little time to process.

Answer 3

So they stabilize at a given temperature. Almost all materials change characteristics while heating and electricity heats materials, admittedly a lot less than when tubes were used. If the unit is properly ventilated and the air temperature does not change much the variance in readings will be much less.

Answer 4

Because, the signal must stabilize, since the amplitude and phase of a system is portional to temperature. For exampleThis is true for spectrum analyzers.

Answer 5

It's not really necessary any more except for some specialized instruments and some temperature detectors.

Answer 6

so the instrument can be more effcient for use