Thermal analysis | unconventional techniques

There are a number of variations to the standard thermal analysis techniques. These include nonlinear variations of the basic methods, combined methods where both methods are related to thermal analysis techniques, and simultaneous methods where only one method is a standard thermal analytical method, and finally there are methods where samples are subject to more unusual stresses such as application of sound, electrical current, or radioactive gas. Users of these techniques are able to derive additional information not available via the basic methods, enabling a more complete picture of the response of material properties to changes in temperature. Sample sizes may range from nanogram to kilogram depending on the property of interest, and some of the methods are able to investigate complicated multicomponent samples or to allow nondestructive measurements of precious or historic samples in situ.