Description
Ordinary oxygen bomb combustion calorimetry is used to measure the heat of combustion or reaction of materials in oxygen or inert atmospheres. Even for high strength vessels, such as the Parr 1104 Oxygen Combustion Bomb, the conditions necessary to detonate small amounts of highly reactive materials are often difficult to achieve and can result in unpredictable consequences. For example, the conventional heat of combustion of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) [C5H8N4O12] in oxygen is 1957 cal/g while the heat of detonation in vacuum is 1490 cal/g (a 24% difference).