The magnitude of the thermoelectric voltage depends on the closed (sensing) end as well as the open (measuring) end of the particular thermocouple alloy leads. Temperature sensing instruments that use thermocouples take into account the temperature of the measuring end to determine the temperature at the sensing end. Most millivoltmeters do not have this capability, nor do they have the ability to do non-linear scaling to convert a millivoltage measurement to a temperature value. It is possible to use lookup tables to correct a particular millivoltage reading and calculate the temperature being sensed. However, the correction value needs to be continuously recalculated, as it is generally not constant over time. Small changes in temperature at the measuring instrument and the sensing end will change the correction value.