Specific Heat Chemistry - An Overview

Specific Heat Chemistry - An OverviewThe specific heat of a material refers to how fast it can be heated. The amount of heat is determined by the temperature of the material.A material's temperature can vary from very low to very high. The temperature at which it is most highly entrapped within its surrounding medium will be the material's specific heat. The more entrapped, the higher the specific heat and the hotter the material will be.When heating a material, there are many variables that affect the temperature of the material. The most important factor is the degree of entrapment of the material within the medium. The temperature of the material can be influenced by:Other factors that affect the temperature of the material include:In addition to the temperature of the material it is also important to consider the surface area of the material. More surface area means less heat will escape. Most materials have a specific heat that increases as the square of the area of the material .The most common materials that have a high temperature are those that are hot liquids. The thermodynamic properties of a liquid to determine the temperature of the liquid and it is expressed in Kelvin.Since liquids only have a specific heat when it is a gas, they have a high temperature. This is called enthalpy.The conversion of chemical energy into mechanical energy is known as entropy and since the overall temperature of a material is related to entropy, the specific heat of a material is a measure of its thermal entropy. The distribution of the entropy of a material can be used to calculate the specific heat of a material.