The word calorimetry is derived from the Latin word for heat (calor) and the Greek/Latin terms for measure (metron/metrum). A calorimeter is, therefore, an instrument that is used to measure the heat change associated with a change of state of a substance. Calorimetrically derived thermodynamic data play a fundamental role within the Earth Sciences, because many petrological, geochemical and geophysical processes can be modeled or described by undertaking thermodynamic calculations.
Calorimetric measurements can be broadly divided into thermophysical and thermochemical experiments. The former are those involving the heat capacity, which is generally defined either under constant volume (C v) or constant pressure (C p) and is given is terms of energy/temperature. The heat capacity is a function of the intrinsic structure of a phase (atomic motions or lattice vibrations). In addition, the latent heat of reactions or transitions (e.g. melting, solid state phase transitions, vaporization,...
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Geiger, C.A. (1998). Calorimetry . In: Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4496-8_41
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