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Heat capacity

Heat is energy transferred because of a temperature difference. How much heat is needed to change a substance's temperature depends on its mass and on the specific heat capacity, which tells you how much energy 1 kg of the substance needs to change temperature by 1 degree.

Q = mc\Delta T

heat for a temperature change with no phase change

Symbols

$Q$	heat	J
$c$	specific heat capacity	J/(kg·K)
$\Delta T$	temperature change	K

Example

A kettle heats $1.5$ kg of water ( $c = 4180$ J/(kg·K)) from $15$ °C to $100$ °C. $Q = 1.5\cdot 4180\cdot 85 \approx 533$ kJ.

A change of

1

°C is the same as

1

K, so

\Delta T

never needs converting between the scales.

Practise pressure, density and heat for free →

← Buoyancy · Phase changes →

Part of Foundations of Physics: Pressure, density and heat.