Heat and Temperature Are Not the Same Thing
Heat is thermal energy. Physics draws a sharp line between it and temperature.
Heat is thermal energy, and in physics specifically energy transferred because of a temperature difference. Heat and temperature are not interchangeable: a lit match is far hotter than a bathtub of warm water, but the bath contains vastly more heat. Temperature measures the average energy of particles; heat counts the total energy moved. A *heat* is also a preliminary race, from the sense of a single burst of effort, recorded in racing from the 1600s.
- Thermal energy. *The heat of the fire.*
- High temperature. *The summer heat.*
- A preliminary race. *The first heat.*
- To warm. *Heat the oven.*
- Old English — *hætu*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | heat | Heat. |
| Verb | heat | Heating. |
| Adjective | heated | Heated. |
| Related | hot | Hot. |
| Old English | hætu | Heat. |
- The heat was unbearable.Weather.
- She won her heat easily.Racing.
- A bath holds more heat than a match.Physics.
Heat against temperature
- Temperature measures the average energy per particle
- Heat is the total thermal energy transferred
- A match flame is very hot but holds little heat
- A warm bath is cooler but holds far more
- Heat always flows from higher to lower temperature
Old English *hætu*, of Germanic origin, from the root of *hot*.
What is the difference between heat and temperature?
Temperature measures the average energy of particles. Heat is the total thermal energy transferred, so a warm bath holds more heat than a hot match.
Why is a preliminary race called a heat?
From the sense of a single burst of effort, used in racing from the 1600s.