Specific Heat

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Specific Heat

The ratio of the heat absorbed (or released) by unit mass of a system to the corresponding temperature rise (or fall). If this ratio varies with temperature, it must be defined as a differential quotient dQ/dT, where dQ is the infinitesimal increment of heat per unit mass and dT is the infinitesimal increment of temperature.

For gases the thermodynamic process must be specified; two specific heats are defined, one being the specific heat in a constant-pressure process

c_p = (dQ / dT)_pand the other, the specific heat in a constant-volume process c_v = (dQ / dT)_v

In a perfect gas these are, by definition, constants with respect to temperature, and the difference of the specific heat at constant pressure and the specific heat at constant volume is equal to the

gas constant: R = c_p - c_v

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use