Specific heat, also known as specific heat capacity, is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius (or one kelvin). It is an intensive property, meaning it does not depend on the amount or size of the substance but rather on the type and phase of the material. More formally, specific heat capacity ccc is defined as the heat capacity CCC of a sample divided by its mass MMM:
c=CM=1M⋅dQdTc=\frac{C}{M}=\frac{1}{M}\cdot \frac{dQ}{dT}c=MC=M1⋅dTdQ
where dQdQdQ is the amount of heat added to raise the temperature by a small increment dTdTdT
. The units of specific heat are typically joules per kilogram per degree Celsius (J/kg·°C) or calories per gram per degree Celsius. For example, water has a specific heat capacity of approximately 4187 J/kg·°C (or 1 calorie/g·°C), meaning it takes 4187 joules of heat to raise 1 kilogram of water by 1°C
. The specific heat capacity varies with temperature and pressure but is often treated as constant over small temperature ranges for practical purposes
. It plays a critical role in thermodynamics, calorimetry, and various scientific and engineering applications, including understanding Earth's climate
. In summary:
- Specific heat is the heat required to raise the temperature of 1 unit mass of a substance by 1 degree.
- It is an intrinsic property of the material.
- Units are commonly J/(kg·°C) or cal/(g·°C).
- It helps quantify how substances absorb or release heat when their temperature changes
