Heat capacity ratio
Description
Heat capacity, or thermal capacity, is a measurable physical quantity equal to the ratio of the heat added to (or subtracted from) an object to the resulting temperature change.
The heat capacity ratio or adiabatic index or ratio of specific heats, is the ratio of the heat capacity at constant pressure to heat capacity at constant volume. It is sometimes also known as the isentropic expansion factor. For an ideal gas, the heat capacity is constant with temperature.
Variables
| γ | Heat capacity ratio (for ideal gases) (dimensionless) |
| cP | Heat capacity at constant pressure (J/K) |
| cV | Heat capacity at constant volume (J/K) |