What is the term for the heat added to convert a liquid to vapor at a constant temperature?

The term for the heat added to convert a liquid to vapor at a constant temperature is known as the latent heat of evaporation. This process occurs at the boiling point of the liquid, where additional energy is necessary to overcome the intermolecular forces holding the liquid molecules together. This energy does not cause a change in temperature but rather facilitates the phase transition from liquid to vapor.

Understanding that latent heat is energy absorbed or released during the transition between states of matter is crucial in thermodynamics. In the case of latent heat of evaporation, it specifically refers to the energy required to turn a liquid into a gas without altering its temperature, thus making it distinct from other forms of heat such as specific heat, which is the amount of heat required to change the temperature of a substance.

Specific heat pertains to the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius, while heat of fusion refers to the amount of heat needed to convert a solid into a liquid at its melting point. Thermal energy is a broader term that encompasses all the energy contained within a substance due to its temperature but doesn’t specifically define the energy involved in phase changes. This clarity on the specific process of evaporation emphasizes why the latent heat of evaporation is the correct and