heat of fusion

American  

noun

Physics.

1. the heat absorbed by a unit mass of a given solid at its melting point that completely converts the solid to a liquid at the same temperature: equal to the heat of solidification.

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heat of fusion Scientific  

1. The amount of heat required to convert a solid at its melting point into a liquid without an increase in temperature. Liquids release the same amount of heat when they solidify.

2. See also heat of vaporization

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Example Sentences

How does the latent heat of fusion of water help slow the decrease of air temperatures, perhaps preventing temperatures from falling significantly below 0ºC , in the vicinity of large bodies of water?

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The value of E for nitro- glycerine was found to be 70.5 when calculated, according to Van't Hoff's formula, from the melting point and the latent heat of fusion of the substance.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)

The number of units of heat required to melt a unit mass of ice is called the heat of fusion of water.

From General Science by Clark, Bertha M.

When the handle of the machine is rapidly turned the wire glows, first with a red heat, then with a white heat, and finally with the heat of fusion.

From Fragments of science, V. 1-2 by Tyndall, John