Specific latent heat

• Calculating Specific Latent Heat

  • Latent (meaning hidden) heat describes the energy required to change the state of a substance
  • The specific part again refers to 1 kg of a substance
  • The amount of energy Q required to melt or vaporise a mass of m with latent heat L is:

  Thermal energy required for a change of state = Mass × Specific latent heat 

  Q = mL

  • Where:
  • Q = thermal energy required for a change in state, in joules (J)
  • m = mass, in kilograms (kg)
  • L = specific latent heat, in joules per kilogram (J/kg)