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    Real World Context of Specific Heat Capacity

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    Mitchell Pearce
    Specific heat capacity is important for engineering applications like engines and machinery where heat distribution must be carefully managed to prevent overheating and failure. Water is commonly used as a coolant in car engines due to its high specific heat capacity, absorbing heat from the engine and circulating it to the radiator where it is released. Materials with similar heat capacities must be used together in engines to avoid cracking or splitting from uneven expansion and contraction. Materials with low specific heat capacities are useful for applications like cooking appliances where rapid heating is needed, while higher heat capacity casings prevent burns. Thermometers also rely on materials with low specific heat capacities like mercury and glass for accurate temperature readings.

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    Real World Context of Specific Heat Capacity

    Uploaded by

    Mitchell Pearce
    24K views1 page
    Specific heat capacity is important for engineering applications like engines and machinery where heat distribution must be carefully managed to prevent overheating and failure. Water is commonly used as a coolant in car engines due to its high specific heat capacity, absorbing heat from the engine and circulating it to the radiator where it is released. Materials with similar heat capacities must be used together in engines to avoid cracking or splitting from uneven expansion and contraction. Materials with low specific heat capacities are useful for applications like cooking appliances where rapid heating is needed, while higher heat capacity casings prevent burns. Thermometers also rely on materials with low specific heat capacities like mercury and glass for accurate temperature readings.

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    Specific Heat Real World Applications

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    Specific heat capacity is important for engineering applications like engines and machinery where heat distribution must be carefully managed to prevent overheating and failure. Water is commonly used as a coolant in car engines due to its high specific heat capacity, absorbing heat from the engine and circulating it to the radiator where it is released. Materials with similar heat capacities must be used together in engines to avoid cracking or splitting from uneven expansion and contraction. Materials with low specific heat capacities are useful for applications like cooking appliances where rapid heating is needed, while higher heat capacity casings prevent burns. Thermometers also rely on materials with low specific heat capacities like mercury and glass for accurate temperature readings.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    24K views1 page

    Real World Context of Specific Heat Capacity

    Uploaded by

    Mitchell Pearce
    Specific heat capacity is important for engineering applications like engines and machinery where heat distribution must be carefully managed to prevent overheating and failure. Water is commonly used as a coolant in car engines due to its high specific heat capacity, absorbing heat from the engine and circulating it to the radiator where it is released. Materials with similar heat capacities must be used together in engines to avoid cracking or splitting from uneven expansion and contraction. Materials with low specific heat capacities are useful for applications like cooking appliances where rapid heating is needed, while higher heat capacity casings prevent burns. Thermometers also rely on materials with low specific heat capacities like mercury and glass for accurate temperature readings.

    Copyright:

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    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    Real World Context of Specific Heat Capacity

    Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat needed to raise its temperature by 1K. Specific heat capacity, heat capacity and thermal conductivity are all very necessary when designing and building engines and large machinery. Car/machine motors get very hot, and is very important to know how that heat is distributed through the engine. If you have poor heat management, it can lead to engine failure, fires or possibly even an explosion. Water has a high specific heat capacity and is low on cost, and is very effective when acting as a cooling agent in engines. A water pump circulates the water around the engine, and the heat produced by the engine is absorbed by the water. That hot water that circulates around the engine walls is then forced into the cars radiator where the heat from the water is released through the cooling fan. Engine parts constantly expand and contract due to the fluctuation in heat within the engine. That is why it is imperative that metals with similar specific heat capacities are put together, because if one metal heats up faster than the other and theyre connected, and one expands faster than the other, then cracking and splitting may occur. Materials that have lower specific heat capacities are prone to gaining more heat, or heat up quicker even if a smaller amount of energy (heat) is applied to that material. These materials are very useful for cooking appliances such as frypans, pots and heating elements of kettles. Even though the heating element of a kettle has a low specific heat capacity, the outer casing of the kettle would have to have a higher specific heat capacity so that you dont burn your hand. In a cooking pot, it would generally have a copper base, which has low specific heat capacity to absorb the heat. It is also very stable so that the pot wont topple over. Wood is often used as the handles of the pot due to woods low conductivity of heat. For us to measure temperature by using a thermometer, the liquid and the material that is in must have low specific capacities for accurate measurements of the temperature. Usually around a thermometer is glass which has a specific heat capacity of 0.84 J/g and the mercury which is the liquid in thermometers have a specific heat capacity of 0.14 J/g (which is the reason why mercury is used in thermometers). These are some real life applications of specific heat capacity, and all though we may not realise it, it is in most things we do in everyday life. Specific heat capacity is a big part of the way us as humans live our lives. References Dean, O. (22-06-2008) Application of Specific Heat Retrieved on 30th April 2013 from http://fiziknota.blogspot.com.au/2008/06/application-of-specific-heat-capacity.html Breen, M. (2001) Re. What are some practical uses of determining the specific heat of a metal. Retrieved on 30th April 2013 from http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/200102/981315429.Eg.r.html Fizikmozac (n.d.) 4.2 Specific Heat Capacity Applications Retrieved on 30th April 2013 from http://heatmozac.blogspot.com.au/2008/09/42-specific-heat-capacity-applications.html

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