Specific Heat Capacity Converter
ScienceConvert specific heat capacity between joules per kilogram-Kelvin, calories per gram-°C, and BTU per pound-°F — used for thermodynamics and materials work.
From
To
All conversionsfor 1 Calories per Gram-°C (cal/g·°C)
| Joules per Kilogram-Kelvin (J/kg·K) | 4184 |
| Kilojoules per Kilogram-Kelvin (kJ/kg·K) | 4.184 |
| Calories per Gram-°C (cal/g·°C) | 1 |
| BTU per Pound-°F (BTU/lb·°F) | 0.99933123 |
What is a Specific Heat Capacity?
The Specific Heat Capacity Converter converts specific heat capacity between joules per kilogram-Kelvin (SI), calories per gram-°C (CGS), and BTU per pound-°F (imperial). Specific heat capacity measures how much energy is needed to raise a unit mass of a substance by one degree of temperature — a fundamental material property used throughout thermodynamics, calorimetry, and thermal engineering.
Enter a value in any supported unit and the converter calculates the equivalent instantly. For the related volumetric quantity, see the Heat Density Converter.
How to use this Specific Heat Capacity calculator
- Choose your starting unit from the source dropdown — for example, "Calories per Gram-°C (cal/g·°C)".
- Enter the numeric value you want to convert in the input field.
- Choose your target unit from the destination dropdown — for example, "Joules per Kilogram-Kelvin (J/kg·K)".
- Read the converted result, which updates instantly as you type or change units.
- Use the swap (⇅) button if you need to reverse the conversion direction.
- Use the copy button to grab the result for a calorimetry calculation or materials comparison.
Formula & Methodology
The converter's base unit is joules per kilogram-Kelvin (J/kg·K). Every supported unit has a fixed multiplier: - 1 kilojoule per kilogram-Kelvin (kJ/kg·K) = 1,000 J/kg·K - 1 calorie per gram-°C (cal/g·°C) = 4,184 J/kg·K - 1 BTU per pound-°F (BTU/lb·°F) = 4,186.8 J/kg·K Any conversion follows: Result = Input × (toBase of source unit ÷ toBase of target unit) Worked example — converting water's specific heat capacity of 1 cal/g·°C to J/kg·K: Result = 1 × 4184 = 4,184 J/kg·K This matches the standard reference value for water's specific heat capacity in SI units.
Frequently Asked Questions
Specific heat capacity measures how much energy is needed to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree — a higher specific heat capacity means a substance requires more energy to heat up (or releases more energy cooling down) for the same mass and temperature change.
Multiply the cal/(g·°C) value by 4,184, since one calorie per gram-°C equals 4,184 joules per kilogram-Kelvin. Enter your value with 'Calories per Gram-°C (cal/g·°C)' as the source and 'Joules per Kilogram-Kelvin (J/kg·K)' as the target to apply this automatically.
Water has an unusually high specific heat capacity (about 4,184 J/kg·K, or exactly 1 cal/g·°C by the calorie's original definition), meaning it takes a lot of energy to change its temperature — this is why water is used as a thermal reference standard and why large bodies of water moderate local climate temperatures.
Both units were historically defined around water's specific heat capacity as a reference point — 1 calorie is defined as the energy to raise 1 gram of water by 1°C, and 1 BTU is defined similarly for 1 pound of water and 1°F — so both units evaluate to approximately 1 for water, and their SI equivalents (4,184 and 4,186.8 J/kg·K) are very close but not identical due to small definitional differences.
Heat density (energy per unit volume) can be calculated from specific heat capacity (energy per unit mass) by multiplying by the substance's density — specific heat capacity is a per-mass quantity, while heat density is a per-volume quantity. See the [Heat Density Converter](/heat-density-converter/) for that related quantity.
Water has a specific heat capacity of about 4,184 J/kg·K, while most metals are much lower — aluminium around 900 J/kg·K, and copper around 385 J/kg·K — which is why metals heat up and cool down much faster than water for the same energy input.
Specific heat capacity determines how much energy storage or thermal mass a material provides, which matters for applications from building thermal mass (moderating indoor temperature swings) to battery thermal management (how much a cell's temperature rises during charging) to calculating heating or cooling loads for a process.
Calorimetry calculations (Q = mcΔT) require specific heat capacity in consistent units with your mass and temperature values — use this converter to bring datasheet or reference specific heat values into the same unit system as the rest of your calculation before applying the formula.
No — heat capacity is the total energy needed to raise an entire object's temperature by one degree (depends on the object's total mass), while specific heat capacity is a per-unit-mass property intrinsic to the material, independent of how much of it you have.
Gases have distinct specific heat capacities at constant pressure (cₚ) and constant volume (cᵥ), since heating a gas at constant pressure requires extra energy to do expansion work — always check which value a given specific heat figure refers to before using it in a calculation.
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