A type of heat associated with phase changes?

Answer 1

LATENT HEAT

This type of heat is used to break the bonds of the substance and causes the substance to change states of matter. For example, the atoms in a liquid are closer together than the atoms in a gas. When heat is added to the liquid it can cause the liquid to break apart and become a gas. Therefore, the heat is being used to break the bonds and not raise the temperature of the substance. This explains how water boils. For example, when you turn on the stove we are adding heat to a pot of water. The heat, in the form of specific heat, is raising the temperature of the water. However, at some point the water meets its boiling temperature (100 degrees), and the water evaporates and turns into a gas. So at this point the additional heat is now in the form of latent heat. The temperature is not increasing as the heat continues, so instead the bonds of the liquid are being pulled apart and turning into a gas. The concept of latent heat is very important to atmospheric processes. For example, heat is needed when the water from the oceans evaporates, and that heat is involved in a change in a state of matter (liquid water to water vapor). So the heat is turned into latent heat, which does not allow an increase in the temperature. Therefore, in this process the heat is removed from the atmosphere, and as a result the air temperature is cooler near the oceans. The latent heat is also stored energy that is released when the gas condenses and turns back into a liquid, which is what occurs when a cloud is formed and precipitation is eminent. So the latent heat is essentially stored energy that may be released during the formation of clouds. This process can add a huge amount of energy to a system. In fact, the release of latent heat is the energy that drives hurricanes.