Thermal or Heat Capacity

The heat capacity of a body is the amount of heat energy required to raise its temperature by 1°C (or 1 K).

Heat capacity C' = \[\frac{\text{amount of heat energy supplied (Q)}}{\text{rise in temperature (Δt)}}\]

or

Heat capacity of the body C' = \[\frac {Q}{Δt}\]

• Heat capacity (C′) of a body is directly proportional to the heat energy (Q) supplied and inversely proportional to the rise in temperature (Δt), i.e., C'​ = \[\frac {Q}{Δt}\].
• S.I. unit of heat capacity is joule per kelvin (J K⁻¹), and 1 cal K⁻¹ = 4.2 J K⁻¹.