Is it possible to have negative specific heat? Explain.

Question

anonymous · Answer

in classical physics and chemistry, no, it is not possible. heat capacity is basically how much energy you put in to raise a certain amount of a certain substance by a certain unit of temperature (e.g. °c, °f, k). think about it, if you had a negative heat capacity, it would mean your loosing energy to heat up a substance. now does that make sense or what? heating a substance and the temperature drops? i'll leave that for you to decide. HOWEVER, in a astrophysics, especially when you're dealing with star systems or star clusters, it is VERY VERY possible.