specific heat

Specific heat is a property of materials that describes how much heat energy is needed to raise the temperature of a certain amount of substance by one degree Celsius. Different substances have different specific heats; for example, water has a high specific heat, meaning it requires a lot of energy to heat up or cool down. This is why it takes time to boil a pot of water. Understanding specific heat is important in various fields, including cooking, climate science, and engineering, as it influences how materials respond to temperature changes.