What is latent heat?

Latent heat refers to the amount of heat energy that is absorbed or released by a substance during a phase change, such as melting, freezing, condensation, or evaporation, without a change in temperature. This property is crucial in understanding processes like the water cycle, where, for instance, water absorbs latent heat when it evaporates and releases it when it condenses back into liquid.

Selecting this option emphasizes the significance of latent heat in energy transfer processes, particularly in thermodynamics and meteorology, where understanding how energy is exchanged during state changes is vital. The other options touch on different concepts of heat transfer and thermodynamics but do not specifically address the unique aspect of phase changes that latent heat represents.