pASC instruments

What is the sensitivity of a pASC in watt?

Due to the difference in the operating principle between pASC and DSC, this question cannot be answered.

In a heat-flux DSC, the most common type, the performance depends on the sensitivity of the heat-flux sensor between the sample and the reference. This is commonly expressed as the minimal amount of power, measured in watt, that the sensor can detect. This number is listed in the specifications typically as the "sensitivity" and the values are typically expressed microwatt or nanowatt.

In a pASC in the default adiabatic scanning mode, the power is provided to the sample via a dedicated heater circuit, and is hence not measured by a heat-flux sensor. Also, the power is kept constant, and has a much larger value than the microwatts or nanowatts that a DSC must measure.

The Peltier element is not a heat-flux sensor in the default adiabatic scanning mode. Instead, it acts as a zero-detector for the temperature difference between the sample and the shield. As such, it does not measure any heat flux.