Measuring Heat Capacity and Specific Heat Capacity

The easiest way to measure the heat or specific heat capacity of a body is to heat it and record the rise in temperature.

If it is the heat capacity that is being measured then equate the electrical energy supplied to the heat energy gained:

To measure the specific heat capacity, substitute C=mc in the above equation to obtain to the heat energy gained

where

I= current

V= power supply voltage

t= the time for which the power is on

m=mass of material

C=heat capacity

c=specific heat capacity

For example if 0.5 kg of water is heated by a 240 W power supply supplying a 10A current for 1 minute resulting in a temperature rise of 68.6 K. the spcific heat capacity is

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