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  1. Glossary
  2. /Physics
  3. /Heat and Temperature

What is Heat and Temperature?

In short

Temperature measures how hot something is, and is related to the average kinetic energy of its particles. Heat is the energy that flows from a hotter object to a colder one.

In simple words

Temperature is measured in kelvin (K) or degrees Celsius, and heat in joules. Two objects at the same temperature have no net flow of heat between them. Heat travels by three routes: conduction through solids, convection in fluids that can move, and radiation as electromagnetic waves, which needs no medium. A bigger or heavier object needs more heat for the same rise in temperature.

Example

To warm 2.0 kg2.0\ \text{kg}2.0 kg of water by 10 K10\ \text{K}10 K needs Q=mcΔT=2.0 kg×4200 J kg−1K−1×10 K=84 000 JQ = mc\Delta T = 2.0\ \text{kg} \times 4200\ \text{J kg}^{-1}\text{K}^{-1} \times 10\ \text{K} = 84\,000\ \text{J}Q=mcΔT=2.0 kg×4200 J kg−1K−1×10 K=84000 J.

Learn it properly

  • Lessons on this topic
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Related terms

  • First Law of Thermodynamics
  • Kinetic Energy and Potential Energy

← All glossary terms

Learn it in

  1. Heat TransferClass 11 to 12
All lessons on this topic →

Practise

  1. A solid copper sphere of radius 0.010 m is painted black (treat it as a black body)…Advanced
  2. A cool box holds 2.0 kg of ice at 0 °C on a beach where the air is at 35 °C…Hard
  3. Answer, and give a reason. Why does milk added to tea right away keep the tea warmer…Easy
A body is 20 K warmer than the room. It cools by Newton's law, and its excess falls to…Medium
All problems on this topic →

Quick questions

  1. Two large parallel plates face each other across a vacuum. Both behave as black bodies…Advanced
  2. A thick spherical shell has an inner radius of 10 cm and an outer radius of 20 cm, and…Advanced
  3. The wall of a house is 18 cm of brick, of thermal conductivity 0.60 W/(m K), covered on…Hard

More Physics terms

  1. Acceleration
  2. Acceleration Due to Gravity (g)
  3. Adiabatic Process
  4. Amplitude
  5. Angle of Incidence
  6. Angle of Reflection
All Physics terms →

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