Ch – Heat

Heat is an invisible form of energy that can produce the sensation of heat or cold. The
property that tells us how hot or cold a particular body is called its temperature, i.e., the
degree of hotness or coldness of a body is denoted by its temperature. When heat is
supplied to a body its temperature increases and when heat is taken away from a body,
its temperature decreases. The heat energy can be transformed into other forms of
energy like electrical, mechanical, light, etc., by suitable methods. Heat energy can
bring about changes in the physical dimensions, state and the chemical properties of a
substance.

Heat energy can also be defined as the sum total of potential and kinetic energy of
molecules. Temperature can also be defined as the average kinetic energy of all
molecules.

FLOW OF HEAT ENERGY AND THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM

We know that water always flows from a higher level to a lower level, similarly heat
energy is always transferred from a body at higher temperature to a body at lower
temperature till a thermal equilibrium is attained. Hence, heat lost by a body at higher
temperature is equal to heat gained by a body at lower temperature. Hence,
temperature is a physical quantity which determines the direction of the flow of heat
between two bodies.

The flow of heat continues till both the bodies attain the same temperature. This
temperature is called equilibrium temperature. The state of two bodies at the same
temperature in which there is no net flow of heat energy between them is called state of
thermal equilibrium.

Differences between heat and temperature

Heat Temperature
 Heat is a form of energy, which causes the The degree of hotness or coldness of a
sensation of hotness or coldness. body is measured in temperature.
Heat energy is the cause. Temperature is the effect.
It is measured in joule or calorie. It is measured in kelvin, or celsius or
Fahrenheit.
Calorimeter is used to measure heat Thermometer is used to measure
energy. temperature.
Heat energy always flows from body at Temperature depends on the average
high temperature to body at low kinetic energy of the molecules.
temperature.
It is the sum of the potential and the kinetic It is the average kinetic energy of the
energy of the molecules of the substance. molecules.
Heat energy lost by a hot body is equal to The increase in temperature of a cold body
the heat energy gained by a cold body. need not be equal to the decrease in
temperature of the hot body.

MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE
A device used to measure temperature is called thermometer. Generally thermometers
are based on the principle that matter expands on heating. For example the volume of a
liquid increases with increase in temperature.

In general, a liquid at higher temperature will have more volume than what it has at
lower temperature. This property of increase in volume with increase in temperature is
the principle on which a thermometer is constructed.

Units of Heat
Heat energy is measured in calories. One calorie of heat energy is defined as the
amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through
1oC. However, one calorie of heat energy is a very small quantity. So, a bigger unit,
kilocalorie is used.
One kilocalorie of heat energy is defined as the amount of heat energy required to raise
the temperature of 1 kilogram of water through 1 oC. Heat is also measured in joules, as
it is a form of energy. (joule is the S.I. unit of heat).
The experimental results show that 4.2 joules of mechanical work produces 1 calorie of
heat energy. Thus,

1 calorie = 4.2 J
1 kilocalorie = 4200 J

EXAMPLE
Calculate the amount of heat required in joule, such that the amount of heat required to
heat certain amount of water is 8750 cal?

SOLUTION
Given heat required by certain amount of water = 8750 cal
= 8750 × 4.2 = 36750 J or 36.750 kJ. (1 cal = 4.2 J)

Specific Heat Capacity

Unit mass of different substances absorb different amounts of heat energy, for unit rise
in the temperature. For example, to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water through 1 oC,
4186 J energy is absorbed by it whereas 1 kg of copper absorbs 385 J of heat energy
for a rise of 1oC.
Thus, the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of unit mass of
different substances is not equal as it depends on their nature. This energy is called
specific heat capacity of a substance. Thus, specific heat capacity of a substance is
defined as the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of unit mass of a
substance through one degree celsius or one kelvin.

The S.I. unit of specific heat capacity is J kg −1 K−1. If heat energy is measured in cal or
kcal, then the unit of specific heat capacity is given by cal g−1°C−1 or kcal kg−1 oC−1.

The heat energy absorbed by a given body increases in direct proportion to its mass (m)
and rise in temperature (Δθ), thus, the heat energy absorbed by a given body is given
as Q = m × s × Δθ where m is the mass, s is the specific heat capacity and Δθ is rise in
temperature.

Heat Capacity
When a given body is heated, it absorbs certain amount of heat energy for 1 oC rise in its
temperature. The heat energy thus absorbed by it is known as its heat capacity. Heat
capacity is denoted by ‘c’.

Let a body absorb Q calories of heat energy and as a result, let its temperature rise by
ΔθoC. Then, for a rise of 1oC, the heat energy absorbed by the body is (Q/Δθ), which by
definition is the heat capacity.

The S.I. unit of heat capacity is joule per kelvin (J-K -1) and general unit is cal-°C–1 or
kcal-°C–1. The heat energy absorbed by a body is given by Q = m × s × Δθ. Dividing
both sides of the above equation by Δθ, we get (Q/Δθ) = m × s. But (Q/Δθ) by definition
is the heat capacity. Therefore, the heat capacity is given by heat capacity = m × s.

Heat capacity and specific heat capacity are different. Heat capacity depends upon the
mass of a substance whereas specific heat capacity does not depend on mass. Heat
capacity is not a fixed quantity. It increases with increase in mass for the same material.
Specific heat capacity is a fixed quantity for a given material.

Heat capacity is the ratio of the amount of heat energy transferred to an object to the
resulting increase in its temperature.
Specific heat capacity is a measure of the amount of heat necessary to raise the
temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree K.
Specific heat capacity of some common materials:

Specific heat capacity Specific heat capacity

Substance Substance
cal g-1 0C-1 J g-1 0C-1 cal g-1 0C-1 J g-1 0C-1
Water 1.000 Iron
Alcohol 0.548 Copper
Ice 0.500 Silver
Steam 0.500 Mercury
Aluminium 0.214 Lead

Examples:

Advantages of High Specific Heat Capacity of Water:

The following are some of the advantages of the high specific heat capacity of water.

1. Formation of sea and land breezes: During day time, land is heated to higher
temperature than sea water as its specific heat capacity is much less than that of water.
The hot air above land rises up and causes decrease in pressure. But the pressure of
air above sea water is comparatively high as it is cooler. Due to this difference in
pressure over land and sea, air starts blowing from sea to land, which is called sea
breeze.

During night time, land cools faster than sea as it loses heat energy rapidly, in
comparison to sea water. The pressure over land increases and is more than pressure
of air over the sea. The air, thus, starts blowing from land to sea, which is called land
breeze.

2. Use of water for fomentation: Fomentation is the process in which swollen body
parts of patients are maintained at moderate temperature, around 50 oC. By fomentation
a patient suffering from pain gets a lot of relief. For fomentation, hot water is used in
bottles since water can store a large amount of heat energy at relatively low
temperature due to high specific heat capacity.

3. Water as coolant: Owing to its high specific heat capacity, water can absorb a large
amount of heat energy, without its temperature becoming too high. This property of
water makes it a good coolant. Water is used as coolant in automobile engines such as
cars and buses, in factories, etc.

4. Use of water in the internal heating of buildings: In cold countries, the rooms in a
building are kept warm by circulating hot water through pipes. The water is preferred as
it can carry a large amount of heat energy from the furnace, at moderate temperatures.