Patent Document ID: 4166385
Application ID: 05919885
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. The method of quantifying the kinetic constants .DELTA.E, the activation energy, and (-.DELTA.H.sub.R)a, the product of heat of reaction and Arrhenius pre-exponential factor, for a given thermally unstable solid, comprising the steps of: (1) locating a sample between controlled hot and cold surfaces, and applying a first known thermal gradient to the sample; (2) gradually raising the temperature of the hot surface to determine the maximum temperature that the sample can withstand without undergoing a thermal runaway, and defining that temperature as the critical temperature for that applied gradient; (3) repeating steps (1) and (2) at a second and different known applied thermal gradient, to obtain a second and different critical temperature; and (4) solving the steady-state differential equation describing the calorimeter system for .DELTA.E and (-.DELTA.H.sub.R)a using the critical temperatures and corresponding cold surface temperatures as boundary conditions.