Heat some ice and watch the temperature climb — but notice the two flat pauses where heat hides as latent heat!
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-20 °C
❄️ Solid (Ice)
Temperature vs Heat added
Flat parts = latent heat (melting at 0°C, boiling at 100°C)
🧠 The Big Idea
Specific heat capacity: how much heat 1 kg of a substance needs to warm by 1°C. Water's is high — that's why the sea heats up slowly. 🌊
Latent heat: during melting & boiling the temperature stays flat even though you keep heating — the energy breaks bonds instead of raising temperature.
Heat energy: Q = m × c × ΔT. During a state change: Q = m × L.