Abstract: A flow-through thermal detector for determining the temperature change resulting from a reaction in a fluid stream includes a pair of parallel fluid paths one of which carries the fluid stream in which the reaction occurs while the other carries a similar fluid without the occurrence of a reaction. The detector includes a temperature sensor for each path. The first of the sensors is mounted to sense the temperature of the reacting stream after said reaction has occurred while the second of the sensors is mounted to sense the temperature of the non-reacting stream at a point in its flow path comparable to that at which the first sensor is mounted. A heat shield is provided surrounding the parallel paths and the heat shield is controllable to a predetermined temperature. Preheating of the streams is carried out by a preheating means positioned within the heat shield to receive the fluid stream entering the shield.