Physics › Section I · Temperature, gases, and heat › Topic I.5
Heat and heat capacity
Heat is energy that moves because one thing is hotter than another. How much the temperature changes when it arrives depends on the mass and on the material, and water, with its unusually high specific heat, shapes everything from kettles to coastal weather.
In this topic
- Heat is energy on the move
- Units of heat
- Joule and the mechanical equivalent of heat
- Heat and temperature change
- Specific heats and heat capacity
- Worked example: boiling a kettle
- Worked example: heating by work
- Mixing: heat lost equals heat gained
- Worked example: copper in water
- Why water steadies the climate
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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