TheInfoList

Latent heat (also known as latent energy or heat of transformation) is energy released or absorbed, by a body or a
thermodynamic system A thermodynamic system is a body of matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, whic ...
, during a constant-temperature process — usually a
first-order phase transition In chemistry, thermodynamics, and many other related fields, phase transitions (or phase changes) are the Physical process, physical processes of transition between the basic State of matter, states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas, as well as p ...
. Latent heat can be understood as energy in hidden form which is supplied or extracted to change the state of a substance without changing its temperature. Examples are
latent heat of fusion The enthalpy of fusion of a substance, also known as (latent) heat of fusion is the change in its enthalpy resulting from providing energy, typically heat, to a specific quantity of the substance to change its state from a solid to a liquid, at co ...
and
latent heat of vaporization The enthalpy of vaporization (symbol ), also known as the (latent) heat of vaporization or heat of evaporation, is the amount of energy (enthalpy Enthalpy is a property of a thermodynamic system A thermodynamic system is a body of matter a ...
involved in
phase changes In chemistry Chemistry is the scientific discipline involved with Chemical element, elements and chemical compound, compounds composed of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, properties, behavior and the changes they und ...
, i.e. a substance condensing or vaporizing at a specified temperature and pressure. The term was introduced around 1762 by
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European l ...

Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glasgo ...
. It is derived from the Latin ''latere'' (''to lie hidden''). Black used the term in the context of
calorimetry upSnellen direct calorimetry chamber, University of Ottawa. Calorimetry is the science or act of measuring changes in ''state variables'' of a body for the purpose of deriving the heat transfer associated with changes of its state due, for exam ...
where a heat transfer caused a volume change in a body while its temperature was constant. In contrast to latent heat,
sensible heatSensible heat is heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer to or from a thermodynamic system, by mechanisms other than Work (thermodynamics), thermodynamic work or Mass transfer, transfer of matter. The various mechanisms of energy tr ...
is energy transferred as
heat In thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these ...

, with a resultant temperature change in a body.

# Usage

The terms ″sensible heat″ and ″latent heat″ refer to energy transferred between a body and its surroundings, defined by the occurrence or non-occurrence of temperature change; they depend on the properties of the body. ″Sensible heat″ is ″sensed″ or felt in a process as a change in the body's temperature. ″Latent heat″ is energy transferred in a process without change of the body's temperature, for example, in a phase change (solid/liquid/gas). Both sensible and latent heats are observed in many processes of transfer of energy in nature. Latent heat is associated with the change of phase of atmospheric or ocean water,
vaporization Vaporization (or vaporisation) of an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid phase to vapor. There are two types of vaporization: evaporation and boiling. Evaporation is a surface phenomenon, whereas boiling is a bulk phenomenon. ...
,
condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter In physics, a state of matter is one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist. Four states of matter are observable in everyday life: solid, liquid, gas, and Plasma (physics), plasma. ...

,
freezing Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. In accordance with the internationally established definition, freezing means the solidification phase change of a liquid o ...

or
melting Melting, or Enthalpy of fusion, fusion, is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a chemical substance, substance from a solid to a liquid. This occurs when the internal energy of the solid increases, typically by the applic ...

, whereas sensible heat is energy transferred that is evident in change of the temperature of the atmosphere or ocean, or ice, without those phase changes, though it is associated with changes of pressure and volume. The original usage of the term, as introduced by Black, was applied to systems that were intentionally held at constant temperature. Such usage referred to ''latent heat of expansion'' and several other related latent heats. These latent heats are defined independently of the conceptual framework of thermodynamics. When a body is heated at constant temperature by thermal radiation in a microwave field for example, it may expand by an amount described by its ''latent heat with respect to volume'' or ''latent heat of expansion'', or increase its pressure by an amount described by its ''latent heat with respect to pressure''. ''Latent heat'' is energy released or absorbed, by a body or a
thermodynamic system A thermodynamic system is a body of matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, whic ...
, during a constant-temperature process. Two common forms of latent heat are
latent heat of fusion The enthalpy of fusion of a substance, also known as (latent) heat of fusion is the change in its enthalpy resulting from providing energy, typically heat, to a specific quantity of the substance to change its state from a solid to a liquid, at co ...
(
melting Melting, or Enthalpy of fusion, fusion, is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a chemical substance, substance from a solid to a liquid. This occurs when the internal energy of the solid increases, typically by the applic ...

) and
latent heat of vaporization The enthalpy of vaporization (symbol ), also known as the (latent) heat of vaporization or heat of evaporation, is the amount of energy (enthalpy Enthalpy is a property of a thermodynamic system A thermodynamic system is a body of matter a ...
(
boiling Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmosphere. Ther ...
). These names describe the direction of energy flow when changing from one phase to the next: from solid to liquid, and liquid to gas. In both cases the change is
endothermic In thermochemistry Thermochemistry is the study of the heat energy which is associated with chemical reactions and/or physical transformations. A reaction may release or absorb energy, and a phase change may do the same, such as in melting and bo ...
, meaning that the system absorbs energy. For example, when water evaporates, energy is required for the water molecules to overcome the forces of attraction between them, the transition from water to vapor requires an input of energy. If the vapor then condenses to a liquid on a surface, then the vapor's latent energy absorbed during evaporation is released as the liquid's
sensible heatSensible heat is heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer to or from a thermodynamic system, by mechanisms other than Work (thermodynamics), thermodynamic work or Mass transfer, transfer of matter. The various mechanisms of energy tr ...
onto the surface. The large value of the
enthalpy Enthalpy , a property of a thermodynamic system, is the sum of the system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It is a state function used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant p ...

of condensation of water vapor is the reason that steam is a far more effective heating medium than boiling water, and is more hazardous.

## Meteorology

In
meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the (which include and ), with a major focus on . The study of meteorology dates back , though significant progress in meteorology did not begin until the 18th century. The 19th century saw modest progress in the f ...
, latent heat flux is the
flux of \mathbf(\mathbf) with the unit normal vector \mathbf(\mathbf) ''(blue arrows)'' at the point \mathbf multiplied by the area dS. The sum of \mathbf\cdot\mathbf dS for each patch on the surface is the flux through the surface Flux describes ...

of energy from the Earth's surface to the
atmosphere An atmosphere (from the greek words ἀτμός ''(atmos)'', meaning 'vapour', and σφαῖρα ''(sphaira)'', meaning 'ball' or 'sphere') is a layer or a set of layers of gases surrounding a planet or other material body, that is held in ...

that is associated with
evaporation Evaporation is a type of that occurs on the of a as it changes into the gas phase. The surrounding gas must not be saturated with the evaporating substance. When the molecules of the liquid collide, they transfer energy to each other bas ...

or
transpiration in a tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as a tomato plant. The species originated in western South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere ...

of water at the surface and subsequent
condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter In physics, a state of matter is one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist. Four states of matter are observable in everyday life: solid, liquid, gas, and Plasma (physics), plasma. ...

of
water vapor (99.9839 °C) , - , , , - , , 461.5 /(·K) , - , , 2.27 /kg , - , , 1.864 /(kg·K) Water vapor, water vapour or aqueous vapor is the eous phase of . It is one of water within the . Water can be produced from the or of li ...
in the
troposphere The troposphere is the first and lowest layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, and contains 75% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere Planetary means relating to a planet A planet is an astronomical body orbiting a star or Stellar evo ...
. It is an important component of Earth's surface energy budget. Latent heat flux has been commonly measured with the Bowen ratio technique, or more recently since the mid-1900s by the
eddy covariance The eddy covariance (also known as eddy correlation and eddy flux) technique is a key atmospheric measurement technique to measure and calculate vertical turbulent fluxes within planetary boundary layer, atmospheric boundary layers. The method an ...
method.

# History

The English word '''' comes from Latin '''', meaning ''lying hidden''. The term ''latent heat'' was introduced into calorimetry around 1750 when
Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glasgo ...
, commissioned by producers of
Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whiskyMalt whisky is whisky made from a fermented mashing, mash consisting primarily of malted barley. If the product is made exclusively at a ...
in search of ideal quantities of fuel and water for their distilling process, to studying system changes, such as of volume and pressure, when the thermodynamic system was held at constant temperature in a thermal bath.
James Prescott Joule James Prescott Joule (; 24 December 1818 11 October 1889) was an English physicist A physicist is a scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical m ...

characterised latent energy as the energy of interaction in a given configuration of particles, i.e. a form of
potential energy In physics, potential energy is the energy In , energy is the that must be to a or to perform on the body, or to it. Energy is a ; the law of states that energy can be in form, but not created or destroyed. The unit of measure ...

, and the sensible heat as an energy that was indicated by the thermometer,, Lecture on Matter, Living Force, and Heat. May 5 and 12, 1847 relating the latter to
thermal energy Thermal radiation in visible light can be seen on this hot metalwork. Thermal energy refers to several distinct physical concepts, such as the internal energy of a system; heat or sensible heat, which are defined as types of energy transfer (as is ...
.

# Specific latent heat

A ''specific'' latent heat (''L'') expresses the amount of energy in the form of heat (''Q'') required to completely effect a phase change of a unit of mass (''m''), usually , of a substance as an
intensive propertyIn grammar, an intensive word form is one which denotes stronger, more forceful, or more concentrated action relative to the root on which the intensive is built. Intensives are usually lexical formations, but there may be a regular process for formi ...
: :$L = \frac .$ Intensive properties are material characteristics and are not dependent on the size or extent of the sample. Commonly quoted and tabulated in the literature are the specific latent heat of fusion and the specific latent heat of vaporization for many substances. From this definition, the latent heat for a given mass of a substance is calculated by :$Q =$ where: :''Q'' is the amount of energy released or absorbed during the change of phase of the substance (in kJ or in
BTU The British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a unit of heat In thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physica ...
), :''m'' is the mass of the substance (in kg or in lb), and :''L'' is the specific latent heat for a particular substance (kJ kg−1 or in BTU lb−1), either ''L''f for fusion, or ''L''v for vaporization.

# Table of specific latent heats

The following table shows the specific latent heats and change of phase temperatures (at standard pressure) of some common fluids and gases.

# Specific latent heat for condensation of water in clouds

The specific latent heat of condensation of water in the temperature range from −25 °C to 40 °C is approximated by the following empirical cubic function: :$L_\text\left(T\right) \approx \left\left(2500.8 - 2.36 T + 0.0016 T^2 - 0.00006 T^3\right\right)~\text,$ Polynomial curve fits to Table 2.1. where the temperature $T$ is taken to be the numerical value in °C. For sublimation and
deposition Deposition may refer to: * Deposition (law), taking testimony outside of court * List of deposed politicians, Deposition (politics), the removal of a person of authority from political power * Deposition (university), a widespread initiation ritual ...
from and into ice, the specific latent heat is almost constant in the temperature range from −40 °C to 0 °C and can be approximated by the following empirical quadratic function: :$L_\text\left(T\right) \approx \left\left(2834.1 - 0.29 T - 0.004 T^2\right\right)~\text.$

# Variation with temperature (or pressure)

As the temperature (or pressure) rises to the critical point, the latent heat of vaporization falls to zero.

# See also

* Bowen ratio *
Eddy covariance The eddy covariance (also known as eddy correlation and eddy flux) technique is a key atmospheric measurement technique to measure and calculate vertical turbulent fluxes within planetary boundary layer, atmospheric boundary layers. The method an ...
flux (eddy correlation, eddy flux) *
Sublimation (physics) Sublimation is the transition of a substance directly from the solid Solid is one of the four fundamental states of matter 4 (four) is a number A number is a mathematical object A mathematical object is an abstract concept arising ...
*
Specific heat capacity In thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these qua ...
*
Enthalpy of fusion The enthalpy of fusion of a substance, also known as (latent) heat of fusion is the change in its enthalpy Enthalpy , a property of a thermodynamic system, is the sum of the system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It ...
*
Enthalpy of vaporization The enthalpy of vaporization (symbol ), also known as the (latent) heat of vaporization or heat of evaporation, is the amount of energy (enthalpy Enthalpy , a property of a thermodynamic system, is the sum of the system's internal energy an ...

# References

{{Authority control Thermochemistry Atmospheric thermodynamics Thermodynamics Physical phenomena