It is the amount of energy required to change 1kg of solid into a liquid with no temperature change.
The amount of energy needed to change the "state of matter" is termed as "latent heat". This is not same for vapourisation (liquid to vapour) or for fusion (solid to liquid). For example, latent of fusion is 79.7 cal whereas latent heat for vapourisation is 541 calories. The latent depends on how closely the atoms and molecules in the matter are closely packed.
The specific latent heat of fusion can be calculated by dividing the energy required to melt the substance by the mass of the substance. In this case, the specific latent heat of fusion would be (550 kJ) / (14 kg) = 39.29 kJ/kg.
The latent heat of fusion is dependent on the substance undergoing the phase change from solid to liquid. It is influenced by the specific properties of the material, such as its molecular structure and intermolecular forces. The amount of energy required to overcome these forces and convert the substance from a solid to a liquid state determines the value of the latent heat of fusion.
The specific latent heat of fusion of mercury is about 11.28 kJ/kg. This value represents the amount of energy required to change a unit mass of solid mercury at its melting point to liquid mercury at the same temperature, without changing its temperature.
The energy required to melt a substance
They are the same thing. Fusion and solidification both mean the changing of a liquid to a solid.
latent heat of fusion tells us about the amount of energy that must be taken off from water at 00C to fuse it into ice at 00C . Actually this in this phase temperature remains constant and this energy is (either latent heat of fusion or latent heat of vaporization is the potential energy which is possessed by the states by their virtue.
The latent heat of fusion
The latent heat of evaporation
latent heat of fusion.
The energy required to melt a substance
The latent heat of vaporisation of water requires more energy. This is because on melting, the intermolecular bonds in water are only weakened whereas on boiling, the bonds are completely broken, which requires a larger amount of energy.