ZONE BOX FOR A DIFFERENTIAL SCANNING CALORIMETER

Described is a zone box for a differential scanning calorimeter. The zone box includes sheets of thermocouple alloy disposed between thermally conductive electrical insulator layers. A thermocouple alloy wire is electrically coupled to each one of the thermocouple alloy sheets. In addition, a pure metal wire is electrically coupled to each one of the thermocouple alloy sheets to enable remote measurement of voltage differences between the different thermocouple alloy sheets. The high thermal conductivity of the electrical insulator layers substantially reduces any thermal gradients across the sheets and maintains the connections of the thermocouple alloy wires and pure metal wires to the sheets to be at substantially the same temperature. The zone box reduces temperature difference measurement errors that result from inhomogeneity in the thermocouple alloy wires and variable temperature distributions along the length of the wires.