What is letent Heat ?
Latent heat is defined as the heat or energy that is absorbed or released during a phase change of a substance. It could either be from a gas to a liquid or liquid to solid and vice versa. Latent heat is related to a heat property called enthalpy.
However, an important point that we should consider regarding latent heat is that the temperature of the substance remains constant. As far as the mechanism is concerned, latent heat is the work that is needed to overcome the attractive forces that hold molecules and atoms together in a substance.
Let’s take an example. Suppose a solid substance is changing to a liquid, it needs to absorb energy to push the molecules into a wider, more fluid volume. Similarly, when a substance changes from a gas phase to a liquid, their density levels also need to go from lower to a higher level wherein the substance then needs to release or lose energy so that the molecules come closer together. In essence, this energy that is required by a substance to either freeze, melt or boil is said to be latent heat.
Latent heat is defined as the heat or energy that is absorbed or released during a phase change of a substance. It could either be from a gas to a liquid or liquid to solid and vice versa. Latent heat is related to a heat property called enthalpy.
However, an important point that we should consider regarding latent heat is that the temperature of the substance remains constant. As far as the mechanism is concerned, latent heat is the work that is needed to overcome the attractive forces that hold molecules and atoms together in a substance.
Let’s take an example. Suppose a solid substance is changing to a liquid, it needs to absorb energy to push the molecules into a wider, more fluid volume. Similarly, when a substance changes from a gas phase to a liquid, their density levels also need to go from lower to a higher level wherein the substance then needs to release or lose energy so that the molecules come closer together. In essence, this energy that is required by a substance to either freeze, melt or boil is said to be latent heat.
