A quasi-isothermal method of operating an absorbed-dose graphite calorimeter is described in theory and practice. In contrast with the well-known quasi-adiabatic operation, which entails temperature increases during measurements, in the quasi-isothermal mode the temperatures of the different graphite bodies remain constant except for small temperature drifts throughout the measurement. This implies that the temperature dependence of the specific heat of the absorber and of the sensitivity of the temperature sensor influence the absorbed-dose determination significantly less. The method is characterized by a power-compensating measuring principle which is illustrated with a 3-body graphite calorimeter. Comparisons of the quasi-isothermal with the quasi-adiabatic method of operation showed good agreement.

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