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Physics vocabulary · Heat and Thermodynamics

Latent heat

Meaning in physics, with examples

/ˈleɪtənt hiːt/nounCommon term

In physics, latent heat means: The energy absorbed or released when a substance changes state, for example from solid to liquid, without any change in its temperature.

In Turkish: gizli ısı, hal değişim ısısı

How it is used

Specific latent heat (L) is the energy per kilogram: Q = mL. There is a latent heat of fusion for melting and a latent heat of vaporisation for boiling; for water these are about 334 kJ/kg and 2260 kJ/kg. It explains why steam causes such bad burns.

Example sentences

  1. While the ice is melting, the thermometer stays at 0 °C because the energy goes into latent heat.

  2. Sweating cools you down because the evaporating water takes latent heat from your skin.

Common collocations

  • specific latent heat
  • latent heat of fusion
  • latent heat of vaporisation
  • change of state
  • heatEnergy that flows from a hotter object to a colder one because of the temperature difference between them. Like all energy, it is measured in joules (J).
  • specific heat capacityThe energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1 K (or 1 °C). Water has a high value, about 4200 J/(kg·K).
  • temperatureA measure of how hot or cold something is, linked to the average kinetic energy of its particles. In science it is measured in kelvin (K) or degrees Celsius (°C).
  • heat transferThe movement of thermal energy from a hotter place to a colder one. It happens in three ways: conduction, convection and radiation.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Heat and Thermodynamics

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