In engineering terms heat (energy) and temperature are two different things.
One (of many) real life examples is the kitchen stove. When you turn on the kitchen, (and leave it at a set point), the kitchen will provide thermal energy (heat) at a constant rate. However if you put a pan onto the kitchen stove you will see that its temperature rises initially and then reaches a certain point.
In the above scenario, you see that thermal energy is accumulated into the frying pan. That accumulation causes the temperature to rise.
To wrap this up, in this context :
- Heat (or heat energy, or heat flux): is the thermal energy that moves from one system to another (or from one part of the system to another). In nature, heat flow from hotter to cooler parts.
- Temperature: is a measure of the thermal energy which is accumulated in a system. That thermal energy is "stored" as kinetic energy of the molecules in the system.
Some differences between energy and heat
Quality | Heat | Temperature |
---|---|---|
Is it a type of energy | Yes | No |
Does it describe the state of the system | No | yes |
Does it transfer from one system to another | yes | No |
Can it be measured absolutely | No | yes |
Does it determine the rate of energy exchange | No | yes |
Is it a material property | No | yes |
Is it a system property | No | yes |
Additionally, heat transfer can result (actually most of the times does) in temperature change (there are exceptions like phase change).