Ultra-Sensitive Calorimeter

A newly invented calorimeter can measure heat fluctuations at extreme sensitivities to measure heat generated and lost in any process.

A newly invented calorimeter can measure heat fluctuations at extreme sensitivities to measure heat generated and lost in any process.
 
Calorimeters measure the flow of heat into or out of a system. Heat flow is an essential parameter to understand in any chemical, biological, physical, or ecological system. 
 
Yet there are no existing commercially available calorimeters capable of measuring the very small or rapid heat fluxes characteristic of most natural processes—even though these systems are essential to our food chains, global climate, and industries.
 
The inventors have created a novel calorimeter design that can measure very small heat flows at a sensitivity outperforming any commercially available calorimeter by several orders of magnitude. This sensitivity means that heat flow in very dilute systems can be measured and changes in denser systems can be detected in very short timeframes. 

Currently, the inventors are focused on very sensitive measurements of viral and microbial activities. Upon further development, this technology will be broadly applicable for everything from industrial processes to environmental monitoring.

Advantages

• Inexpensive
• Ultra-sensitive
• Precise
• Portable for field use
• High-frequency

Benefits

• Monitoring heat losses associated with climate change
• Agriculture
• Construction (e.g., curing concrete)
• Brewing, fermenting, and culinary processes
• Monitoring physical changes at near-atomic scale

 

Lead Inventor

Forest Rohwer, Ph.D.

IP Protection

• US Provisional Patent Application No. 62/950,406