Understanding Specific Heat Units (hg-C)

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers around the confusion regarding the specific heat of air being expressed as 1.05 kJ/hg-C. Participants clarify that specific heat is typically represented in kJ/(kg·C) or kJ/(kg·K), indicating a potential typographical error with "hg" likely being a mistake for "kg." It is emphasized that the correct units for specific heat should reflect energy per unit mass per unit temperature. Additionally, the mention of J/C pertains to heat capacity rather than specific heat. Overall, the consensus is that the original unit notation is incorrect and should be revised.
scumbum22
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Hopefully this is a really simple question to answer. A problem I have uses the following information:

The specific heat of air = 1.05 kJ/hg-C.

Does anyone know what the hg-C stands for? I know specific heat is usually expressed in terms of J/C, so this is confusing me.
 
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The units of specific heat are energy per unit of mass per unit of temperature. Thus it should read kJ/(kg C). I think you misread the unit and ended up with hg instead of kg.
 
Nope, I double checked and the units are definitely kJ/(hg-C). Any ideas as to what the hg may be? Is it some reference to mercury?
 
It doesn't refer to mercury. Let's say it's a typing mistake. I stand by my previous post
 
The specific heat of air is of the order of 1 kJ/kg.K (or kJ/kg.C). The exact value depends on temperature. So it is a typo, no doubt.
The units J/C (asuming C stands for Celsius degree) are for heat capacity and not for specific heat.
 

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