A 40 °C. ISOTHERMAL CALORIMETER
A 40° Bunsen-type isothermal calorimeter has been built and tested. The working substance, benzalacetone, is thermostatted by the vapor of methylal boiling under a constant pressure. An impurity in the benzalacetone makes it necessary to calibrate the instrument in exactly the same way in which it is to be used. Under carefully controlled conditions and with a constant mantle thickness the reproducibility is of the order of 0.2%. With about half the benzalacetone in the solid state, the calorimeter constant was found to be 0.0455 (± 0.0001) gm. of mercury per calorie. This instrument, which can be readily adapted to micro and semimicro work, was designed primarily for the direct determination of the heats and rates of certain enzymatic and bacteriological processes.