Specific Heat

Specific heat is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by $1°\text{C}$. This is defined as:

$$c_v=\frac{\partial u}{\partial T}\left[\frac{\text{kJ}}{\text{kg}\cdot \text{K}}\right]$$

and we also have

$$u_2-u_1=\overline{c_v}(T_2-T_1)$$

The above assumes that internal energy is only a function of temperature, such as an ideal gas.

Specific heat is not fixed; it changes as a function of temperature.

See:

• Constant Volume Specific Heat
• Constant Pressure Specific Heat
• Specific Heat Relationships