Principle of Calorimetry

 

Principle of Calorimetry :- According to the principle of calorimetry if no heat is lost to the surroundings then heat lost by a hotter body is equal to the heat gained by a colder body. This principle is based on the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed it can only be transferred.

Mathematically,

$$\text{Heat lost }=\text{Heat gained}$$

m₁c₁ΔT₁ = m₂c₂ΔT₂

where :-

• m₁​, m₂​ = masses of the substances,
• c₁, c₂​ = specific heat capacities of the substances,
• ΔT₁, ΔT₂ = change in temperature of the substances.

temperature of cold object (T_L) ≤ temperature of mixture (T) ≤ temperature of hot object (T_H)

T_L ≤ T ≤ T_H

The temperature of mixture can never be lesser than the temperature of cold body because an object cannot be cooled below the temperature of cooling object. Similarly, the temperature of an object cannot exceed the temperature of the object heating it, because the heat released by one object will be equal to the heat absorbed by the other object.

 

Applications of Principle of Calorimetry

• Mixing Hot and Cold Liquids – Finding final temperature when two liquids of different temperatures are mixed.
• Determining Specific Heat Capacity – Used in experiments to calculate the specific heat of a substance.
• Latent Heat Calculations – Used to determine the heat required for phase changes during melting or boiling.