Humidity control thermal analyzer

A humidity control thermal analyzer comprising:

• a detector for detecting and measuring a physical characteristic of a sample;
• a sample chamber for housing the sample and which is provided with a vapor inlet and a vapor outlet for water vapor and which is capable of controlling the temperature of the sample housed in said sample chamber;
• a sample temperature detector which is disposed in said sample chamber for detecting the temperature of the sample;
• a heat insulating pipe with heating means for preventing dew condensation, said pipe being connected to said vapor inlet of said sample chamber;
• a warm water container for generating water vapor, said container having a gas inlet and having a gas outlet which is connected to said pipe and which is capable of controlling the temperature of water in said container;
• a temperature program function generator for outputting a target temperature value of said sample chamber as a function of time;
• a humidity program function generator for outputting a target humidity value of said sample chamber as a function of time;
• a memory means for storing a temperature-saturated water vapor pressure curve;
• and
• a calculator connected to said sample temperature detector, said humidity program function generator and said memory means for calculating a control target temperature for the water in said container for generating a saturated water vapor pressure on the basis of the sample temperature detected by said sample temperature detector, the sample chamber target humidity value of the sample chamber output from the humidity program function generator and the temperature-saturated water vapor pressure curve,
• wherein the temperature of the sample and the humidity of the atmosphere contacting the sample are program controlled.