On the estimation of the specific heat of unknown solutions..

Thread Content

I now need to calculate the amount of cooling required for a certain material, but the relevant data on heat fusion is not available. I tried to estimate it using the following method: 1. Take a certain volume V of water, with temperature t and density e. 2. Take a certain volume V1 of the unknown heat-fusion solution, with temperature t1 and density e1. 3. The temperature difference between water and the unknown solution should be more than 30 degrees. All these values can be measured. After mixing the two substances and stirring them for about 1 minute, the temperature of the mixture, t0, is measured. Then, using the formula Ve(t-t0)c_water = V1e1(t0-t1)c_solution, the density of the solution can be calculated. 1. Is this method feasible? What is its accuracy level? 2. What factors affect accuracy? 3. What are other methods for measuring specific heat?