Home
Back
Heat Capacity Formula:
| From: | To: |
Heat capacity is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius. It's an extensive property that depends on the amount of material present.
The calculator uses the heat capacity formula:
Where:
Explanation: The heat capacity of a substance is the product of its mass and its specific heat capacity (the amount of energy needed to raise 1 kg of the substance by 1°C).
Details: Heat capacity is crucial in thermodynamics, material science, and engineering applications. It helps determine how much energy is needed to heat or cool materials and is essential in designing heating/cooling systems.
Tips: Enter the mass in kilograms and specific heat capacity in J/kg·°C. Both values must be positive numbers. The calculator will compute the total heat capacity in joules per degree Celsius (J/°C).
Q1: What's the difference between heat capacity and specific heat capacity?
A: Heat capacity is for an entire object (J/°C), while specific heat capacity is per unit mass (J/kg·°C). Heat capacity depends on the amount of material, specific heat is an intensive property.
Q2: What are typical specific heat values?
A: Water has a high specific heat (~4186 J/kg·°C), metals are lower (e.g., iron ~450 J/kg·°C), while air is ~1005 J/kg·°C at constant pressure.
Q3: Does heat capacity change with temperature?
A: For most materials, yes. The specific heat capacity often increases with temperature, especially near phase transitions.
Q4: What's molar heat capacity?
A: Similar concept but expressed per mole (J/mol·K) rather than per kilogram. Useful in chemistry for gas calculations.
Q5: How is heat capacity used in real-world applications?
A: It's essential in designing HVAC systems, cooking appliances, thermal storage systems, and understanding climate processes (like why coastal areas have milder temperatures).