Determining the Equilibrium Temperature

Now, for the fun part!

We are now ready to take the ideas of this chapter and make some interesting calculations or useful predictions. This is but another example of energy conservation.

For a thermally isolated system, heat may flow from one object to another but the total heat flow must be zero. That is important. For a system of two object, this means

Q1 + Q2 = 0

If there is no change of state, this means

Q1 = c1 m1 T1 = c1 m1 ( Tf - T1i )

Q2 = c2 m2 T2 = c2 m2 ( Tf - T2i )

Click here for an EXAMPLE.

If there is a change of state, we must include the latent heats involved.

Click here for an EXAMPLE.

Working many examples is the best way to become comfortable with Equilibrium Temperature problems.

Change of State

Summary
Return to ToC, Temperature, Heat, & Internal Energy
(c) 2002, Doug Davis; all rights reserved