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If heat capacity is measured for a well-defined amount of substance, the specific heat is the measure of the heat required to increase the temperature of such a unit quantity by one unit of temperature. For example, raising the temperature of water by one kelvin (equal to one degree Celsius) requires 4186 joules per kilogram (J/kg).
Calorimetry is the empirical basis of the idea of quantity of heat transferred in a process. The transferred heat is measured by changes in a body of known properties, for example, temperature rise, change in volume or length, or phase change, such as melting of ice. [69] [70]
Firstly, thermo-("of heat"; used in words such as thermometer) can be traced back to the root θέρμη therme, meaning "heat". Secondly, the word dynamics ("science of force [or power]") [22] can be traced back to the root δύναμις dynamis, meaning "power". [23] In 1849, the adjective thermo-dynamic is used by William Thomson. [24] [25]
For example, the material of the wall must not undergo a phase transition, such as evaporation or fusion, at the temperature at which it must conduct heat. But when only thermal equilibrium is considered and time is not urgent, so that the conductivity of the material does not matter too much, one suitable heat conductor is as good as another.
The temperature of a system in thermal equilibrium is the same as the temperature of any part of it, so temperature is an intensive quantity. If the system is divided by a wall that is permeable to heat or to matter, the temperature of each subsystem is identical. Additionally, the boiling temperature of a substance is an intensive property.
Heat: Energy in transfer between a system and its surroundings by mechanisms other than thermodynamic work and transfer of matter. The characteristic energy k B T associated with a single microscopic degree of freedom, where T denotes temperature and k B denotes the Boltzmann constant .
For example, the heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1 K is 4184 joules, so the specific heat capacity of water is 4184 J⋅kg −1 ⋅K −1. [3] Specific heat capacity often varies with temperature, and is different for each state of matter.
Thermal physics, generally speaking, is the study of the statistical nature of physical systems from an energetic perspective. Starting with the basics of heat and temperature, thermal physics analyzes the first law of thermodynamics and second law of thermodynamics from the statistical perspective, in terms of the number of microstates corresponding to a given macrostate.