Heat and temperature

Heat and temperature are two related but different concepts. Understanding these concepts is important to many fields of science and engineering, including climatology, physics of matter and thermal engineering.

Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles in a system, while heat is the transfer of thermal energy between two systems at different temperatures. The instrument for measuring temperature is called a thermometer and the units of measurement are degree Celsius (°C), degree Fahrenheit (°F) and degree Kelvin (°K).

Heat is the transfer of thermal energy from one system to another. Heat transfer can occur by convection, conduction or radiation. Specific heat is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a material by one unit of temperature. The amount of heat transferred between two systems depends on the temperature difference between them and the amount of mass and specific heat of the systems.

Heat is not the same as temperature. The temperature of a system is directly related to the heat energy it contains, but temperature is not the only factor to consider. For example, two systems can have the same temperature, but if they have different masses or specific heat, the amount of heat required to raise their temperature will be different.