Specific Heat 2
When energy is given to a substance and the substance is not performing any work, it results into increase in
temperature of the substance. (If the temperature of the substance is not increased, when the heat is given to it,
and also the substance is not performing any work, it could lead to change in the phase of the substance and this
phenomenon is termed as Phase Transition). Amount of heat, required to raise the temperature of a substance by
a certain amount, depends on the properties of the substance and this amount of heat varies from substance to
substance.
For example, the amount of energy or heat required to increase the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1°C is
4.186 J, but the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of 1 kg of copper by 1°C is only 387 J.
There are two methods to increase the temperature of the substance:
1. By transferring heat or energy to it.
2. By doing Work on it.
Specific Heat Definition Back to Top
Specific heat c of a substance is defined as the heat capacity of the substance per unit mass of the substance.
Therefore, if energy Q is given to the substance having mass m, and it results in the change in the temperature of
the substance by Δ T. Hence, Specific Heat of the substance is
Q
c=
mΔT
Specific Heat Capacity Back to Top
Heat capacity of a substance is denoted by C. It is defined as the amount of energy which is required to increase
the temperature of the substance by 1°C.
According to the definition, if heat Q given to the substance increases the temperature of the substance by ΔT ,
then
Q = CΔ T
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Specific Heat Formula Back to Top
Specific heat is essentially a measure of how thermally insensitive a substance is to the addition of energy. If the
specific heat capacity of a substance is more, then for a given mass m of a substance, for a particular Δ T
temperature change, more energy Q needs to be transferred to the substance as compared to the second
substance having less specific heat capacity. Therefore, more the specific heat capacity, more energy needs to be
transferred to the substance if the other conditions (Q, m,Δ T ) are same.
Formula for specific heat can be written as,
Q
c=
mΔT
Specific Heat Units : SI unit of Specific Heat is Joules per Kilogram Kelvin. (J/kg.K).
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Specific Heat Table Back to Top
Specific Heat Table for some of the substances is given below at 25 0C and Standard Atmospheric pressure
Substance Specific Heat(J/kg. °C)
Specific Heat of Beryllium 1830
Specific Heat of Cadmium 230
Specific Heat of Copper 387
Specific Heat of Germanium 322
Specific Heat of Gold 129
Specific Heat of Iron 448
Specific Heat of Lead 128
Specific Heat of Silicon 703
Specific Heat of Silver 234
Specific Heat of Brass 380
Specific Heat of Glass 837
Specific Heat of Ice(-5°C) 2090
Specific Heat of Marble 860
Specific Heat of Wood 1700
Specific Heat of Alcohol(ethyl) 2400
Specific Heat of Mercury 140
Specific Heat of Water(15°C) 4186
Specific Heat of Steam(100°C) 2010
Specific Heat of Aluminium 900
Specific Heat of Tin 540
Specific Heat of Steel 120
Specific Heat of Sand 830
Specific Heat of Ethanol (Alcohol, ethyl 32°F) 2.3 K
High Specific Heat
From the above table we can derive that Water has highest specific heat among the common materials.
Specific Heat of Air Back to Top
Ideal gas Specific Heat Capacities of Air
Temperature(K) Cp (kJ/kg.K) Cv (kJ/kg.K) k
250 1.003 0.716 1.401
300 1.005 0.718 1.400
350 1.008 0.721 1.398
400 1.013 0.726 1.395
450 1.020 0.733 1.391
500 1.029 0.742 1.387
550 1.040 0.753 1.381
600 1.051 0.764 1.376
650 1.063 0.776 1.370
700 1.075 0.788 1.364
750 1.087 0.800 1.359
800 1.099 0.812 1.354
900 1.121 0.834 1.344
1000 1.142 0.855 1.336
1100 1.155 0.868 1.331
1200 1.173 0.886 1.324
1300 1.190 0.903 1.318
1400 1.204 0.917 1.313
1500 1.216 0.929 1.309
Specific Heat Ratio Back to Top
The heat capacity ratio is the ratio of the heat capacity at constant pressure (CP) to
heat capacity at constant volume (CV).
Cp
Specific heat Ratio = γ =
Cv
Calculating Specific Heat Back to Top
For calculating the specific heat of the substances we need to understand
Conservation of Energy: Calorimetry
One method to measuring the specific heat of the substance involves the steps of:
1. Heating a substance to temperature Tx.
2. Placing the substance in a beaker which contains water. Mass and temperature of the water are known.
3. Measuring the temperature of the water after thermal equilibrium is attained.
Small quantity of work is done in this process. According to the Law of the conservation of energy, the quantity of
energy which leaves the sample of the substance (whose specific heat is unknown) is equal to the quantity of energy or heat
which enters the water. This process is termed as the Calorimetry, and devices are called calorimeters.
According to the Conservation of energy Law, we can write
Qcold = - Qhot
which shows that total energy of the system remains constant, i.e., heat left by the substance is equal to the heat
transferred to the water. The heat negative Qhot shows that the hot substance is leaving the heat. The negative
also signifies that the right side of the equation is positive and consistent with the left side of the equation. Left
side is positive because heat is transferring to the water.
Take mx as the mass of a substance sample whose specific heat we want to determine. Lets denote its specific
heat y, cx and Initial temperature by Tx. Similarly, let mw, Tw and cw, represents corresponding values for the
cold water.
After mixing the substance in the cold water, energy transfer takes place and equilibrium is reached. Lets
say, Tf is the Thermal equilibrium temperature after everything is mixed, then from the equation of specific heat
capacity Q = mcΔ T, we can equate the values on Left hand side and Right hand side. Substituting these values
into above mentioned specific heat equation we get,
w w( f − w) =− x x( f − x)
m w cw (T f − T w ) = −m x cx (T f − T x )
Solving for CX (Specific heat of the unknown substance we get)
m w cw ( T f − Tw )
Cx = m x (T x −Tf )