Low-temperature heat-pulse calorimetry for self-heating radioactive samples

Abstract

A heat‐pulse technique is described for measuring low‐temperature heat capacities of radioactive self‐heating samples in the range 2–60 K. The method also provides a simple alternative to traditional heat‐pulse methods for measuring nonradioactive samples and is attractive because a heat switch is not required. Data for copper indicate an overall accuracy of about 1%. Heat capacity data for plutonium‐242 between 4 and 13 K are also presented.