What is Specific Heat Capacity and How to Measure It?

The specific heat assists the heat energy of the substance possessed and what heat is required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree. When you are able to find the specific heat capacity of a substance, then it is possible to identify the initial and the final temperature.When you are able to find the heat capacity of a system, then it is easy to predict the system would be exothermic or endothermic in nature.

You can identify the system is going to release or absorb energy by the chemical reaction. The specific heat calculator can be used to estimate the specific heat of a system and the amount of energy it is going to release or absorb by the system. The specific heat can also identify the nature of the chemical reaction. A reaction releasing the energy in the chemical reaction is endothermic and the reaction which is absorbing the heat energy during the chemical reaction is exothermic.

This article discusses what specific heat is and why you need to measure it before conducting a chemical reaction.

What is specific heat?

“The specific heat is the heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by one degree or celsius”.

You can estimate the specific heat of a substance when you are able to raise the 1 gram of the substance to one degree or 1 kelvin.

The specific heat formula is given by:

Where

C = Specific heat

Q = Induced specific thermal energy

m = mass of the substance

= Change in the heat energy

You need to understand that the specific heat of every element is different from each other. The specific heat calculator allows you to identify a substance’s specific heat and its relevant heating capacity. For knowing the complete history of the specific heat, you can visit Britannica and its relevant forums.

Why to measure the specific heat?

The specific heat tells us the ability of a substance to store the heat. When we are dealing with a substance in the industry. You need to identify how much temperature should be required to raise the temperature to a certain level. Each metal has its own specific heat for 0.897 K-joules/KgK and the Bronze has 0.343 K-joules/KgK.

It means when you are treating the both the metal then you need to assess their specific heat as aluminum requires more heat to raise the temperature as compared to bronze. You need to treat them indifferent to mold or craft in a certain substance. The specific heat calculator is a simple way to find the specific heat of various metals.

You can identify the specific heat of various substances by using online tools. The specific heat can be better understood by Wikipedia and the various international units used for the specific heat. It is quite necessary to identify the specific heat of the various substances and their relative capacity of heat or evaporation. A reaction releasing the energy in the chemical reaction is endothermic and the reaction which is absorbing the heat energy during the chemical reaction is exothermic.

How to calculate specific heat?

Consider you have a 15 g piece of metal and it has absorbed 134 J of heat when its temperature is raised from 24 degrees to 62.7 degrees. Then calculate the specific heat of the metal.

Solution

Mass of metal = 15 g

Heat absorbed = 134 J

Initial temperature = 24 degrees

Final temperature = 62.7 degrees

Change in temperature = 62.7 degrees – 24 degrees

Change in temperature = 38.7 degree

The specific heat formula is given by:

Specific heat equation for the given values are:

The heat capacity formula for the given substance is:

The specific heat calculator can be used to find the specific heat of a substance. You can find the specific heat of the water, ice and different meatal like (Copper, Tin, Zinc and Iron) by using the online tool.

The specific heat of water

The specific heat of the water is high as it has a strong hydrogen bond among its molecules. When you are measuring the specific heat of water you are going to find higher values as compared to the other material.When temperature is decreased the water molecules release a significant amount of energy.The specific heat calculator can estimate the specific heat of the water at various temperatures.

The water has the highest of the specific heat and it can absorb more heat energy than any other substance. The relative heating capacity of the water makes it the best coolant substance in the industry. The various industrial processes are done using the water’s coolant quality.

The specific heat of a substance

The specific heat of various substances is given below:

The specific heat calculator can determine the heat required to raise the temperature depending on the specific heat of the substances. You need to identify the various specific heats of different substances to specify the energy required to raise their temperature.

Conclusion

The specific heat is essential to find when you need to find the amount of heat required to raise the temperature. You need to understand that every substance requires various amounts of heat to raise the temperature. For knowing the nature of chemical reactions it is necessary to find its nature or specific heat. You can identify the chemical reaction as exothermic or endothermic in their nature.