The measurement of specific heats at low temperatures by an adiabatic technique

An apparatus is described for the measurement of specific heats, by an adiabatic technique, from liquid helium to room temperature. The method is particularly applicable to radio-active samples where the heat generation due to decay within the specimen may be very large.The adiabatic shield, which surrounds the sample, is automatically regulated to the same temperature as the specimen, which may be heating at 20K min^?1. The apparatus is automated such that all data is read out in a form suitable for computer handling.