Specific Heat Capacity.
This is the amount of thermal energy (Joules) per unit mass to raise its temperature by one degree celsius.
This is usually measured in joules per gram degree celsius or joules per kilogram degree celsius.
The higher the Specific Heat Capacity of a substance, the more thermally stable it is.
Water has a Specific Heat Capacity of 4200 J per kilogram degree celsius. This makes it a stable environment for things to live in.
Thermally stable substances require a large amount of heat energy to warm them up, but also release a a large amount as they cool down.
Concrete also has a high Specific Heat Capacity (880 J per Kilogram degree celsius), which is why it is used as a 'Heat Sink" in passive solar heating.
The idea is that a large concrete mass heats up in the summer and on sunny days and slowly releases it back into the house during the night and over cooler months.
Although it does not have as high a Specific Heat Capacity as water, it mass a mass of 2400 Kg per cubic metre compared with 1000 Kg per cubic metre for water.
This means that it will warm up slowly and then release a large amount of heat energy, slowly over a long period of time.
This is usually measured in joules per gram degree celsius or joules per kilogram degree celsius.
The higher the Specific Heat Capacity of a substance, the more thermally stable it is.
Water has a Specific Heat Capacity of 4200 J per kilogram degree celsius. This makes it a stable environment for things to live in.
Thermally stable substances require a large amount of heat energy to warm them up, but also release a a large amount as they cool down.
Concrete also has a high Specific Heat Capacity (880 J per Kilogram degree celsius), which is why it is used as a 'Heat Sink" in passive solar heating.
The idea is that a large concrete mass heats up in the summer and on sunny days and slowly releases it back into the house during the night and over cooler months.
Although it does not have as high a Specific Heat Capacity as water, it mass a mass of 2400 Kg per cubic metre compared with 1000 Kg per cubic metre for water.
This means that it will warm up slowly and then release a large amount of heat energy, slowly over a long period of time.
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