When water absorbs
4.184 Joules of heat, the temperature of
one gram of water will increase by
1 C°. Relatively speaking, this is an enormous amount of
heat energy. Coastal states like Florida, which are surrounded by water, maintain relatively stable climates with moderate temperatures. This is because water can absorb or release a great deal of
heat without experiencing huge fluctuations in temperature.
By comparison, look at the
heat capacity of copper. 1 gram of copper will
rise in temperature by 1 C° when just 0.385 Joules of
heat is absorbed. This low
specific heat capacity indicates that copper is a good conductor of heat. You might predict that applying a small amount of
heat will make the temperature of a gram of copper skyrocket while the same amount of
heat hardly makes the temperature of one gram of water
rise at all.