Calorimeter with Differential Scanning

Creating an instrument that has wide enough temperature range to demonstrate measurement with fairly accurate temperature resolution and decent accuracy in measuring enthalpy energy are the main objectives of this project.

The property of enthalpy states that as materials change temperature and go through a transition point such as boiling, melting, etc., the amount of external energy required can be much greater than that need to simply raise/lower the temperature by an equal amount at nearby temperatures. This property is commonly illustrated by an instrument known as differential scanning calorimeter. Depending upon the substance and the particular transition, energy may be given off and not absorbed at a transition temperature.

This differential scanning calorimeter can handle the measurements needed to demonstrate the concepts from a teaching point of view. Those of a research-grade instrument does no match its temperature range, accuracy, and enthalpy energy resolution but it can handle teaching measurements easily with a few hundred dollars of cost to build. The actual measurement head was designed in such a way that it is easy to replace if destroyed, since students are often too careless with lab instruments. The device connects to inexpensive PC.

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