Although the formula of H2O is relatively simple, this compound is still not fully understood. A large number of types and uses of water greatly expands the range of possible investigations. Water has a number of unique and animating properties, one of which is its high heat capacity. It is necessary to analyze this characteristic of water in more detail and identify why this property is significant.
The heat capacity of water is abnormally high. To heat a certain amount of it by one degree, more energy must be expended than when heating other liquids. This results from water’s unique ability to retain heat. The vast majority of other substances do not possess this property. This exceptional feature of water contributes to the fact that the normal human body temperature is maintained at the same level and a hot day and a cool night (Sharma, 2020). It follows from the above that water plays the main role in the regulation of heat transfer and allows a person to maintain a comfortable state with minimum energy expenditure. Due to considerable values of heat capacity and latent heat of transformation, huge volumes of water on the Earth’s surface are heat accumulators. The same properties of water determine its use in industry as a heat carrier (Sharma, 2020). The thermal characteristics of water are one of the most important factors of biosphere stability.
Water is more transparent than soil and, at the same time, denser than the atmospheric layer. Therefore, it absorbs more energy than land or air. The stored heat spreads between the different layers of a body of water, so water is often colder at the surface than the land. Almost all of the stored heat is retained by the water column until the cold season (Sharma, 2020). Even after the upper layers freeze, the temperature under the ice remains higher than on the land surface.
Thus, the heat capacity of water greatly affects the planet’s climate. At high temperatures, water absorbs heat, and when it gets colder, it gives it away. Thus a maritime type of climate is formed: in such regions, winters are warmer, and summers are colder. This unique property of water is only one of several but vividly illustrates the vital importance of this compound.
Reference
Sharma, S. K. (2020). Green chemistry and water remediation: Research and applications. Elsevier Science.