Specific heat capacity
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What this model shows
The heater gives 50 J every second, and each run supplies 30.0 kJ: ten minutes in a real lab, shown here in about 20 seconds. The thermometer is read to the nearest 0.5 °C, as you would read a real one.
The temperatures follow a simple model. The heater’s energy warms the sample, and also the heater and the thermometer (about 40 J for each °C) and, for the water, the part of the beaker that warms with it (about 100 J for each °C). Meanwhile the sample loses energy to the air, faster the warmer it is than the room. The bare block loses the most; the jacket and the lagging keep most of it in.
The magnifier is a model: a few particles stand for billions of billions, drawn far bigger than real. How much harder they vibrate in the block, or how much faster they move in the water, as they warm is exaggerated so that you can see it.
With reduced motion each step is drawn complete at once and the particles in the magnifier stand still.
Select equipment to read its description in the card.