What is the difference between latent heat and sensible heat

Latent Heat: Latent heat describes the changes in the internal energy of matter. Sensible Heat: Sensible heat describes the energy exchange between matter and surroundings. Latent Heat: Latent heat is related to a system at a constant temperature. Sensible Heat: Sensible heat is related to a system with changes in temperature. Latent heat and sensible heat are two forms of energy.

Latent heat describes the changes in the internal energy of a system whereas sensible energy describes the energy exchange between a system and its surrounding. The main difference between latent heat and sensible heat is that latent heat is defined for a system that undergoes a phase change of matter whereas the sensible heat is defined for a system that has no change in the phase of matter.

Her interest areas for writing and research include Biochemistry and Environmental Chemistry. View all posts. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Toggle navigation. Homeowner Commercial end user Installer Consultant. Two forms of heat are relevant in air conditioning: sensible heat latent heat Sensible heat When an object is heated, its temperature rises as heat is added.

Latent heat All pure substances in nature are able to change their state. And there are no intermolecular attraction forces. They move around as single water molecules. Compared to this, liquid state water molecules have low energies.

However, some water molecules are capable of escaping to the vapor state if they have high kinetic energy. At normal temperature, there will be equilibrium between the vapor state and liquid state water molecules.

But, when heating at the boiling point, most of the water molecules will be released to the vapor state. So, when water molecules are evaporating, the hydrogen bonds between the water molecules have to be broken. For this, energy is needed, and this energy is known as the latent heat of vaporization. Heat is a form of energy that spontaneously passes between an object and its surroundings, in some way other than through work or the transfer of matter.

Heat is always transferred from a hotter form to a colder one, which will eventually bring the two forms to the same temperature. This phenomenon is called, thermal balance. We measure heat by registering the object's temperature - the measurement of its thermal state. In other words, it is a comparative measurement of how hot or cold the object is. Conduction heat occurs when a warmer object is touching a cooler object.

The heat is transferred from the warmer object to the cooler object until they are both the same temperature. For example, a metal bar which is heated at one end. The heat would flow through the media to the other end of the bar. Convection heat occurs with liquids and gases, and is the more efficient way to transfer heat.

The process occurs when less dense warmer areas of water or gas rise to a cooler areasy. This begins a circulation as the cooler areas move to the warmer areas.

Ever heard the phrase "hot air rises"? This is due to convection heat. A great example is when water boils. The bubbles formed from heat rise to the top and the cooler water moves to the bottom.

Another example is when a pump forces hot water to circulate through a convector which create heat, which is then released into space. In conduction and convection heat transfer, contact always has to be between the two objects. With radiation, no contact is required between the heat source and the cooler object. It uses electromagnetic waves to transfer heat.