Heat capacity and thermal conductivity from pulsed wire probe measurements under pressure

If a metal wire immersed in an electrically insulating medium is heated by a known constant power, the thermal conductivity of the medium may be deduced from the temperature variation of the wire. It is shown that further analysis of this variation also permits the specific heat capacity or the thermal diffusivity to be determined. A nickel wire is used both as a heater and as a temperature sensor. The power is kept constant by electronic means, and the resistance measured by a four-probe technique. Eight temperature values are recorded during the power pulse which has a typical duration of 1 s. This extended method has been tested by studying glycerol in its amorphous and crystalline states in the range 130-300K and at pressures of up to 0.8 GPa.