Pulse calorimetry with a light bulb

A normal light bulb provides excellent opportunities for learning modern calorimetric techniques. The tungsten filament in a light bulb allows calorimetric measurements to be made over a wide range of high temperatures. The filament serves simultaneously as a sample, a heater and a thermometer. A student experiment employing a pulse calorimetric technique is described. A brief review of existing calorimetric techniques is given, and the temperature dependence of specific heat of solids is considered.