Sensible heat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sensible heat is heat energy that is transported by a body that has a temperature higher than its surroundings via conduction, convection, or both. Sensible heat is the product of the body's mass, its specific heat capacity and its temperature above (an inferred) reference temperature.
In the atmosphere, large-scale transport of heat from the tropics to the poles is affected by both sensible and latent heat, the first of which is the poleward motion of warm air and equatorward motion of cold air, primarily driven by the cyclonic mixing taking place in the Ferrel cell in the midlatitudes, the latter of which is associated with the phase changes of atmospheric water vapor, mostly vaporization and condensation.
The amount of heat added or removed can be measured by a change of temperature of a fluid substance in a calorimeter.
