The difference
between heat and temperature is hardly noticeable but very important. Heat
refers to the transfer of energy between systems (or bodies), while the temperature
is defined as the energy contained within a single system (or body). In other
words, heat is energy while the temperature is a measure of energy.
Adding heat to a body
will increase its temperature while removing energy from a body will decrease
its temperature. Thus, temperature changes as a result of the presence or
absence of heat.
You can measure the
temperature of a room by placing a thermometer in the room. You can increase
the temperature in the room by turning on the heater. As heat is added to the
room, the temperature will increase. At higher temperatures, the particles have
more energy, and this energy is transferred from one system to another as a
result of the collision of faster-moving particles with slower-moving
particles. As these particles collide, the faster-moving particles transfer
some of their energy to the slower-moving particle and this process continues
until all the particles are moving at the same rate. This is called thermal
equilibrium.
