Complex Calorimeter with AC- and Relaxation-Mode Operation

Abstract
A complex calorimeter has been developed. This calorimeter, which can be operated both in the ac mode and the relaxation mode using the same sample cell and the same apparatus settings, uses only a small amount (30-50 mg) of sample. An application to measurements in the vicinity of the antiferroelectric phase transitions in the liquid crystal MHPOBC(4-(1-methylheptyloxycarbonyl)-phenyl 4'-octyloxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate) is demonstrated. It is shown that the present calorimeter, when operated in the relaxation mode, enables detection of the latent heat with a resolution of 0.002 J/g.