Frequency-dependent specific heat from thermal effusion in spherical geometry

We present a method of measuring the frequency-dependent specific heat at the glass transition applied to 5-polyphenyl-4-ether. The method employs thermal waves effusing radially out from the surface of a spherical thermistor that acts as both a heat generator and a thermometer. It is a merit of the method compared to planar effusion methods that the influence of the mechanical boundary conditions is analytically known. This implies that it is the longitudinal rather than the isobaric specific heat that is measured. As another merit the thermal conductivity and specific heat can be found independently. The method has highest sensitivity at a frequency where the thermal diffusion length is comparable to the radius of the heat generator. This limits in practice the frequency range to 2-3 decades. An account of the 3 omega technique used including higher-order terms in the temperature dependence of the thermistor and in the power generated is furthermore given.