Does the equation $Q = mc ∆T$ work in every scenario?

Question

The equation for energy transferred to an is $ Q = mc\Delta T$

$Q$ = Energy Transferred

$m$ = mass of the object

$\Delta T$ = change in temperature

This equation gives a linear energy to temperature ratio. Isn't it that when you get the temperature closer to $0$ K the graph becomes exponential?

Probably belongs more in a physics or even a chemistry board. — Andrew Chin, Dec 06 '19 at 00:15
Note that close to T=0 the heat capacity is not constant, but varies with temperature — Andrei, Dec 06 '19 at 21:10

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 06 '19 at 00:25

In this case, when the temperature is declining it doesn't show how much energy is required to lower the temperature it shows how much energy the object loses. With this, it can also be shown how much thermal energy was in the object in the first place. The ∆T has to be such that the temperature reaches just over 0 K.

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 06 '19 at 00:41

0

Not quite! You'd expect an exponential increase in the heat capacity for most liquids with respect to temperature, considering the increased vibrational energy associated with higher temperatures. However, it's linear more or less.

answered Dec 06 '19 at 00:41

Saketh Malyala

13,637

Does the equation $Q = mc ∆T$ work in every scenario?

2 Answers2