Specific Heat of Water
Water stores more heat per kilogram than almost any common substance, which is why it moderates climates, cools engines, and dominates every thermal budget it enters.
4,186 J per kg per °C
| Liquid water | 4,186 J per kg per °C |
| Ice | about 2,100 J per kg per °C |
| Dry soil, typical | 800 to 900 J per kg per °C |
| Steel | about 490 J per kg per °C |
| Latent heat of fusion | 334 kJ per kg |
Notes for design and site
A wet ground is a thermally sluggish ground: soil moisture multiplies heat capacity, which slows both frost penetration in winter and heat migration around buried cables and geothermal loops. The enormous latent heat of freezing matters just as much, stalling the frost front while pore water gives up 334 kilojoules per kilogram before the temperature can fall further.
Related Calculators and Reference
- Groundwater Flow Simulator: watch these properties drive an aquifer.
- Effective Stress Equation: where the unit weight of water earns its keep.
- USGS Water Science School: authoritative water properties and explanations.