Temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry of reversible and irreversible first-order transitions

Temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry of first-order tran sitions has led to many new observations. Some of these involve non-linear processes or deal with transformations of practically instantaneous respons e. The latter may cause serious lags within the calorimeter due to limited thermal conductivity of the sample and the instrument. In both cases the "r eversing heat capacity" or a "complex heat capacity" is not a precise repre sentation of the transition since both are computed from abbreviated Fourie r transforms, limited to the evaluation of the first harmonic component. On e has in these cases to work in the time-domain with the raw output. But ev en from these analyses in the time-domain many interesting new insights abo ut the transition and the calorimeter performance can be generated. (C) 199 9 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.