Glossary

PHI-factor

The PHI-factor (Φ) is equivalent to the Thermal inertiaThe thermal inertia is equivalent to the PHI-factor. Both describe the ratio of mass and specific heat capacity of a sample or sample mixture compared to that of the vessel or sample container.thermal inertia. Both describe the ratio of mass and Specific Heat Capacity (cp)Heat capacity is a material-specific physical quantity, determined by the amount of heat supplied to specimen, divided by the resulting temperature increase. The specific heat capacity is related to a unit mass of the specimen.specific heat capacity of a sample or sample mixture compared to that of the vessel or sample container. The closer the PHI-factor is to 1, the lower the influence of the container and the more representative the result is of the sample itself.