heat vs. temperature

Here at United Air Care, we feel that it's important to distinguish between heat and temperature. From a generaly perspective, one might consider both heat and temperature to be the same thing. For example, if you're turning on an oven, you could say you are "heating it up." On that same note, the temperature would be increasing as well. For this reason, you could see why people would confuse both heat and temperature, but when you're talking about physics there are several differences that you should be aware of.

Units of Measurement

Heat – Heat is measured in joules. This type of measurement represents the amount of energy that heat transfers. Watts on the other hand measure the rate o fthe energy transfer we're talking about. Therefore, watts are equal to joules over seconds.

Temperature – Temperature is measured by a variety of different scales. The three most common scales are Kelvin, Celsius, and Fahrenheit. Kelvin is a primarily scientific scale based on the concept of absolute zero. Celsius is used around the world to measure scientific and consumer temperatures. The use of the Fahrenheit scale is confined to the United States, among a few other small countries.

What Does it Measure?

Heat – Heat measures all the energy in a particular segment of matter. This includes the kinetic energy created by molecular movement as well as the potential energy stored in the molecular bonds. Heat is considered to be a form of energy that is constantly moving.

Temperature – Temperature measures only the kinetic energy given off by moving molecules.

Summarizing Facts

To the every day person, both heat and temperature are considered to be the same thing - when an object gets hot.
Heat and temperature are measured with completed different units the measurements show different results.
Temperature measures the movement of molecules
Heat measures not only the movement of molecules, but the potential of this energy as well.
Heat and temperature work together and they keep energy flowing from a hot object to a cold object; this is the law of thermodynamics.