Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,508,173,619 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

calorimetry
(redirected from indirect calorimetry)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
calorimetry (kăl'ərĭm`ətrē), measurement of heat heat, nonmechanical energy in transit, associated with differences in temperature between a system and its surroundings or between parts of the same system.

Measures of Heat


..... Click the link for more information.
 and the determination of heat capacity. Heat is evolved in exothermic processes and absorbed in endothermic processes; such processes include chemical reactions, transitions between the states of matter, and the mixing of two substances to form a solution (see thermodynamics Carnot cycle after the French physicist Sadi Carnot , who first discussed the implications of such cycles. During the Carnot cycle occurring in the operation of a heat engine, a definite quantity of heat is absorbed from a reservoir at high temperature; part of this heat is
..... Click the link for more information.
). A number of different units are used in heat measurement, e.g., the calorie calorie, abbr. cal, unit of heat energy in the metric system. The measurement of heat is called calorimetry . The calorie, or gram calorie, is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of pure water 1°C;.
..... Click the link for more information.
, the British thermal unit British thermal unit, abbr. Btu, unit for measuring heat quantity in the customary system of English units of measurement , equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water at its maximum density [which occurs at a temperature of 39.
..... Click the link for more information.
 (Btu), and the joule joule (jl, joul), abbr.
..... Click the link for more information.
. The apparatus used in heat measurement is called a calorimeter. The measurement given by the most common type of calorimeter depends upon the temperature change in a fixed quantity of water (or some other liquid whose heat capacity is known) when heat is transferred between the water and an exothermic or endothermic process. If the temperature change is not too large, then the heat transferred is equal to the heat capacity of the water times the mass of the water times the change in temperature. The accuracy of this method of heat measurement depends on the assumption that all the heat transferred in the process passes into or out of the water in which the temperature change is measured, no heat being lost to the environment and none being absorbed by the walls of the container. The amount of heat given off by the combustion of a fuel can be determined very accurately in the so-called bomb calorimeter, which consists of a combustion chamber (the "bomb") set in another chamber filled with water. Heat generated by combustion of the fuel is transmitted to the water, raising its temperature. The calorie content of food is tested this way. Calorimeters are also employed to measure the energies of elementary particles elementary particles, the most basic physical constituents of the universe.

Basic Constituents of Matter



Molecules are built up from the atom , which is the basic unit of any chemical element .
..... Click the link for more information.
.


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
For this reason, indirect calorimetry is considered to be the 'gold standard' for assessing energy expenditure in hospitalised patients.
Indirect Calorimetry uses a pain-free breath test to precisely measure an individual's unique metabolic characteristics.
 
Encyclopedia browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.