specific heat

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

A vertical bar chart compares how much the temperature of one gram of various materials rises, in degrees Celsius, when one calorie of heat is added. Gold and silver show the greatest temperature increase, while materials like water and gasoline show the least.

Figure 1: Specific heat in the normal (Cen) and superconducting (Ces) states of a classic superconductor as a function of absolute temperature. The two functions are identical at the transition temperature (Tc) and above Tc.

specific heat: References & Edit History

More Articles On This Topic

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Invalidated site: Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Specific Heats.	Grace Young	Oct 23, 2026
	Add new Web site: University of Central Florida Pressbooks - University Physics Volume 2 - Heat Transfer, Specific Heat, and Calorimetry.	Aakanksha Gaur	Sep 11, 2026
	Add new Web site: OpenStax - University Physics Volume 2 - Heat Transfer, Specific Heat, and Calorimetry.	Gloria Lotha	Jun 05, 2026
	Add new Web site: Khan Academy - Specific heat capacity.	Emily Rodriguez	Feb 24, 2025
	Add new Web site: CORE - Specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of PEEK/Ag nanoparticles composites determined by Modulated-Temperature Differential Scanning Calorimetry (PDF).	Aakanksha Gaur	Nov 23, 2024
	Add new Web site: CORE - Specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of PEEK/Ag nanoparticles composites determined by Modulated-Temperature Differential Scanning Calorimetry (PDF).	Aakanksha Gaur	Nov 23, 2024
	Add new Web site: NASA Glenn Research Center - Specific Heat � Cp & Cv.	Gloria Lotha	Apr 26, 2024
	Add new Web site: UW Madison - Thermodynamics: Heat and Enthalpy.	Gloria Lotha	Dec 08, 2023
	Add new Web site: Chemistry LibreTexts - Specific Heat.	Emily Rodriguez	Oct 14, 2023
	Add new Web site: Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Specific Heats.	Gloria Lotha	Aug 29, 2023
	Changed “4,186” to “4.186.”	Erik Gregersen	Nov 22, 2021
	Article revised and updated.	Erik Gregersen	May 06, 2021
	Added diagram depicting the specific heats of various substances.	Richard Pallardy	Jan 31, 2012
	Added new Web site: Hyperphysics - Specific Heat.	Deepti Mahajan	Dec 23, 2008
	Added new Web site: British Broadcasting Corporation - Specific heat capacity and calculating heat energy.	Deepti Mahajan	Dec 23, 2008
	Added new Web site: Indiana University Northwest - Specific Heat.	Deepti Mahajan	Dec 23, 2008
	Article added to new online database.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Jul 20, 1998