Simultaneous measurement of heat capacity and internal relaxation time

A new steady-state method is proposed to simultaneously measure the heat capacity and internal relaxation time using superimposed constant and square-wave power. This method is appropriate for small sample systems with low thermal conductance. The accuracies of the heat capacity and internal relaxation time are almost the same as those determined using other similar methods, but correction for the effect of internal relaxation on the heat capacity is more flexible. The thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity are also simultaneously determined for rod- and slab-shaped samples. We demonstrate the method for small slabs of synthetic silica in the 80-320 K temperature range.