Tag Archives: thermodynamics

One characteristic or property of all solids and liquids is something called the Specific Heat, abbreviated as Cv. This quantity represents the amount of heat required to raise or lower a given quantity (a gram or a Kilogram) by one degree. Water has an extremely high Specific Heat (1 calorie per gram per degree C). A rule of thermodynamics (the study of heat and heat transfer) is that when two objects are placed in contact, they will eventually reach thermal equilibrium. Energy (heat is a measure of energy in a substance) flows from the warmer object...

Thermodynamics and the thermal properties of matter are inextricably linked to daily living. Most everyone has an innate sense of hot and cold, checks the temperature outdoors before deciding what to wear, knows that spilled water will eventually evaporate and not to expect a snow storm on a hot July day.