Wiktionary
n. a thermal analysis technique in which a tiny sample pan is heated together with an empty reference pan and the difference in heat flow between the two measured as a function of temperature.
Wikipedia
Differential scanning calorimetry or DSC is a thermoanalytical technique in which the difference in the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of a sample and reference is measured as a function of temperature. Both the sample and reference are maintained at nearly the same temperature throughout the experiment. Generally, the temperature program for a DSC analysis is designed such that the sample holder temperature increases linearly as a function of time. The reference sample should have a well-defined heat capacity over the range of temperatures to be scanned.
The technique was developed by E.S. Watson and M.J. O'Neill in 1962, and introduced commercially at the 1963 Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy. The first adiabatic differential scanning calorimeter that could be used in biochemistry was developed by P.L. Privalov and D.R. Monaselidze in 1964. The term DSC was coined to describe this instrument which measures energy directly and allows precise measurements of heat capacity.
Types of DSC:
- Power compensated DSC, keeps power supply constant
- Heat flux DSC, keeps heat flux constant