Heat Capacity and Specific Heat Capacity

Different substances -- and different masses of the same substance -- take different amounts of heat to reach the same temperature rise, which motivates defining heat capacity $S=\Delta Q/\Delta T$ (the heat needed to raise a given body's temperature by 1 K) and, since heat capacity scales with the amount of material, specific heat capacity $s=\dfrac{1}{m}\dfrac{\Delta Q}{\Delta T}$ (heat needed per kilogram per kelvin, SI unit J kg⁻¹K⁻¹, depending only on the substance's nature). For gases, the molar specific heat capacity $C=\dfrac{1}{\mu}\dfrac{\Delta Q}{\Delta T}$ (J mol⁻¹K⁻¹) is more convenient. Table 8.2 shows water's specific heat capacity (4186 J kg⁻¹K⁻¹) is by far the highest among common substances -- well above the human body (3470) or any metal listed -- which is exactly why water …