Abstract
A simple, inexpensive conduction calorimeter is described which can determine the melting and other transition temperature to within 0.1K on IPTS-68, the impurity concentration, the enthalpy changes to within 1 per cent, and the heat capacities to within 5 per cent. Test runs revealed the existence of a metastable phase in n-octadecane which melts at 300.27K and in n-eicosane which melts at 309.34K. Solid-solid transitions were also recorded in n-nonadecane at 295.50K and in n-docosane at 317.04K.
