A torsional rheometer with a double slit arrangement suitable for fast gelation

A home built torsional rheometer is presented that consists of a measuring cell with a double slit arrangement. This double slit arrangement guarantee s a quick cooling down of the sample which is of major importance for the o bservation of the start of the solgel transition under isothermal condition s. This torsional rheometer is based on an earlier version of a home built dynamic viscometer. The modifications are focusing first and foremost on th e miniaturizing of the measuring cell. This results in high cooling rates, small volume of the sample, small weight of the oscillating cylinder, and t herefore a relatively large range of frequencies.