These instruments are becoming available for use in ASL as they are set up and their capabilities evaluated. A differential scanning calorimeter measures compares heat flow to sample and reference vessels as the temperature of the instrument is slowly raised in a controlled fashion. Such measurements can be used to characterize the compound being studied. This is a simple to use DSC with associated data collection and data analysis software. It operates from room temperature to about 600 C, although with special preparation scans can begin below room temperature.
Scan rates are variable.
Samples sizes range from 1 mg to 10-20 mg depending on the density and nature of the sample.