Data Story - Be Specific with Your Heat
Lesson
Introduction Specific heat of a substance is a measure of how readily that substance absorbs (and loses) heat. You can also think of it as the capacity of something to hold on to heat (thermal capacity). ![]320 In mathematical terms, specific heat is the amount of energy (here measured in Joules) required to change a unit mass (such as a gram) of a substance by one degree (Kelvin). Specific heat is useful for understanding how and where heat tends to be stored (for example in clouds, oceans, or the earth), or for designing tools that either hasten or restrict heat transfer (such as coolers, heaters, or power plants).
Topics and standards: Science, Physical Science, Thermal Energy