Measurements of Specific Heats by a Pulse Method

Calorimetric methods of measuring specific heats at high temperatures are slow and often involve laborious precautions to eliminate heat losses. Pulse heating methods are rapid and heat losses can be made negligible. The accuracy of the calorimetric methods, however, has been greater than that of the pulse heating methods, which need further development. The purpose of the present investigation was to develop further and to evaluate again one of the more promising pulse heating methods. Kurrelmeyer, Mais and Green (1) suggested in 1941 the use of pulse heating. Baxter (2) described in 1944 a pulse method in which the current and voltage across a thin wire sample were recorded simultaneously. This information, combined with knowledge of the resistance as a function of temperature, gave the specific heat. The principle of Baxter\u27s method has been used in preliminary measurements by Khotkovitch and Bagrov (3) and by Nathahn (4), and is also used in this investigation