latent heat
1
5.0
- noun
- /ˈleɪtənt hiːt/
- Specialized
:
calor latente
- So we would call that a moist, unstable atmosphere where due to that extra latent heat, the parcel is able to rise and form that cloud.
- latent heat flux
Examples
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When water evaporates or evapotranspires, it absorbs latent heat (1000 btu/lb), which changes the energy state from potential to kinetic at constant temperature.
Blog text (21) -
Despite these very high rates of temperature increase, the retreat of permafrost has been slow, owing to the large latent heat required to melt the ice.
Academic text (2005) -
The latent heat of evaporation should have kept the temperature constant.
Blog text (23) -
All that latent heat stored in the oceans would pour into the atmosphere.
Fiction book (2001) -
First of all, there's this latent heat of melting or freezing.
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At the occurrence of each phase change, the atmosphere releases latent heat in the form of radiation.
Blog text (18) -
When water condenses, it releases latent heat; this heat does not follow the Stefan-Boltzmann radiation formula.
Blog text (21) -
During condensation (precipitation), latent heat is released to the atmosphere, thus increasing ambient temperatures.
Blog text (19) -
In comparison, the latent heat flux from the surface ranges from 160 W/m² in the tropics to around 60 W/m² in the extratropics.
Academic text (1994) -
Water vapor releases this latent heat as it condenses into liquid.
Synonyms
Amount of energy absorbed or released when a substance changes state like ice melting
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'latent' (hidden/not apparent) combined with 'heat' conveys the idea of heat that is not obvious or directly observable, so learners can grasp a general sense of 'hidden heat'. However, the precise technical meaning — heat absorbed or released during a phase change at constant temperature — is specialized and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, even though many languages use an equivalent term which can help recognition.
Etymology
Latent heat comes from the idea that latent means 'hidden' and heat means warmth. A scientist used this name for the warmth taken in or given off when something melts or boils without a change in temperature, so latent heat now means the heat involved in those changes even though the temperature stays the same.