The Concept of Heat and Temperature

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Relationship between heat study and kinetic theory of matter
Heat
Temperature
Relationship between heat and temperature
Differences between heat and temperature
Factors influencing heat capacity
Sources of heat
References

Abstract

This paper aims to identify the meaning of heat, temperature and their relationship with the kinetic theory of matter. Furthermore, it will discuss their differences and source. Students who are being introduced to thermal physics find it difficult to clearly distinguish between heat and temperature. To eliminate this, the paper will further look into thermal equilibrium, heat transfer and kinetic theory of matter. As a matter of fact, to clearly understand energy we must first understand what heat and temperature are, areas of relation and differences.

Relationship between heat study and kinetic theory of matter

It is hard to study heat without looking into kinetic theory of matter. As matter of fact, both heat and kinetic theory of matter correlate with each other in all aspects. The kinetic theory of matter states that particles of matter in all states are in constant motion while heat is defined as the measure of how much energy a body has or thermal heat that is transmitted between two bodies (Ross, Enger, & Tillery, 2009). As earlier mentioned the study heat must relate to kinetic theory of matter due to various reasons. According to a basic assumption on kinetic molecular theory, all matter is comprised of atoms which are very tiny and cannot be divided (Ross, Enger, & Tillery, 2009). Therefore, from this assumption heat can be referred to as state of energy a body has in relation the kinetic energy of the atom.

Another aspect of heat that relates to kinetic theory is the fact that heat is produced when these atoms in an object move. Moreover, the intensity of heat is determined by how fast the atoms are moving in the object, the fast the movement the higher the heat and the lower the movement the lower the heat. Therefore, kinetic theory of matter states that any matter regardless of its state is in constant motion and thus by carefully analyzing the theory it is easy to understand heat transfer within any matter. On the other hand, the theory tries to explain the fact that heat moves from warmer objects to cooler objects through conduction (Ross, Enger, & Tillery, 2009). Furthermore, the effect of heat transfer also define the kinetic theory of matter in the sense that when substance changes to a different state, such as melting of ice. In this case, molecules will move faster in liquid state than when they were in solid state. On the other hand, during the process of thermal contraction or thermal expansion heat is either gained or lost, thus heat relates to kinetic theory of matter (Ross, Enger, & Tillery, 2009).

Heat

Heat is a common word that is mainly used to refer to warmth, and generally used day-to-day to define climate and other things that can be felt. However, there is a broader meaning of heat which needs to be understood in details. Heat is defined as the amount of heat transferred from one substance to the other; this process requires energy (Ross, Enger, & Tillery, 2009). As a matter of fact, heat is energy which is produced through a thermodynamic process (Sullivan & Edmondson, 2008). The transfer of heat from one body to the other comes as a result of conduction and usually happens spontaneously toward a cooler body. Therefore, heat is defined as the total amount of energy within a body. An absence of heat is what makes a substance to be cold. Heat energy is measurable as joules, what is measured is not energy but energy transfer. However, measuring heat in term of calories has been found to more convenient that using joules, because calories mainly refers to the amount of heat energy that is required to change the temperature of a substance. It should be understood that, the flow of heat from one substance to the other reaches a point called thermal equilibrium, this is a point where the temperature both the substances becomes equal (Jewett & Serway, 2010). There are two types of heat, namely specific heat and latent heat. Specific heat is defined as the heat necessary to raise the temperature of a certain mass of a given substance while latent heat is the heat required to change the phase of a substance without changing temperature (Ross, Enger, & Tillery, 2009).

Temperature

As earlier observed, heat is defined as the total energy of molecules in a substance which in some way relate to temperature, although not similar. Therefore, temperature is defined as the average amount of energy found in all the molecules of a substance (Jewett & Serway, 2010). In other words, temperature is defined as the quantity that is achieved after thermal equilibrium been reached and does not depend on the type of substance used. This means that temperature is equal between any substances that have reached thermal equilibrium with each other after been put into contact. The SI unit of temperature is Kelvin, which is denoted as K (Jewett & Serway, 2010).

Relationship between heat and temperature

Temperature and heat relate to each other during a change of state. One relationship between heat and temperature is latent heat, which is the heat required to change the phase of a substance without affecting its temperature. There are two types of latent heat, which include latent heat of fusion and latent heat of vaporization which are both reversible (Jewett & Serway, 2010). Latent heat of fusion is heat that is taken or given out without changing temperature as solid changes to liquid or liquid changes to solid. Latent heat of vaporization is the heat taken in or given out without changing temperature as liquid changes gas or gas changes to liquid. Additionally, specific latent heat of fusion and latent heat of vaporization are also show the relationship between heat and temperature (Sullivan & Edmondson, 2008).

Differences between heat and temperature

The fundamental difference between heat and temperature is that heat is the measure of the total energy within molecules of a substance while temperature is the measure of average thermal energy o molecules in a substance. The other difference is the fact that heat can be transferred without any changes in temperature (Sullivan & Edmondson, 2008).

Factors influencing heat capacity

Heat capacity of a substance is determined by various properties, they include nature of the substance, mass of the substance, hydrogen bond, degree of freedom of the substance, impurities, temperature changes, pressure atoms per mole, and molecules per mole (Ross, Enger, & Tillery, 2009).

Sources of heat

Any substance that has the capability of transferring heat from one substance to the other is considered to be a source of heat. The various forms of heat source include friction, nuclear reactions and electricity. In this case, nuclear reaction mainly involves the sun which is made up of hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atoms in the sun, through a process called fusion, a small part of the hydrogen atoms will be converted into energy (ITP Nelson).

References

ITP Nelson. (n.d.). Sources of Heat. 2012. Web.

Jewett, J., & Serway, R. (2010). Physics for Scientists and Engineers. London : Brooks/Cole.

Ross, F. C., Enger, E. v., & Tillery, B. W. (2009). Integrated Science. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Sullivan, G., & Edmondson, C. (2008). Heat and temperature. BJA: CEACCP>Volume 8, Issue 3 , 104-107.

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