Heat of fusion
From Wikinfo
[[de:Schmelzw�rme]][[es:Punto de fusi�n]][[fr:�nergie de fusion]][[sv:Sm�ltv�rme]]
Heat of fusion is the heat absorbed by a unit mass of a solid chemical element at its melting point in order to convert the solid into a liquid at the same temperature. The heat of fusion is equal to the heat of solidification. The amount of heat absorbed varies for different substances.
The energy that goes into melting a solid is used to dissociate the intermolecular bonds holding its molecules in place rather than to increasing the average thermal velocity of the molecules.
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Heat of fusion" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_of_fusion December 15, 2003
