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What is the difference between latent heat and temperature?
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Joseph Black
Joseph Black, detail of an engraving by J. Rogers after a portrait by Sir Henry Raeburn
The British scientist Joseph Black was instrumental in distinguishing between the quantity of heat in a body and its intensity, or temperature.1
The difference between the two concepts is fundamental:
- Temperature is a measure of the intensity of heat or the thermal state of a body, which can be determined using a thermometer. When two objects are in thermal equilibrium, they are at the same temperature.12
- Latent heat is the energy absorbed or released by a substance during a change in its physical state (such as melting or boiling) that occurs without any change in temperature.34
Black demonstrated this by observing that while ice melts, it remains at its freezing point despite the continuous absorption of heat. This energy, which does not result in a temperature increase, is required to overcome the forces holding the substance's particles in a specific structure, such as a crystalline solid. In contrast, sensible heat refers to energy that produces a measurable change in temperature.134