Experiment has shown that the amount of heat necessary to evaporate one weight unit of water would suffice to raise the temperature of 537 weight units of water 1 deg. C. Hence, we say that the latent heat of one kilogram of steam is 537 calories. This means that the amount of heat required to evaporate a quantity of water without changing its temperature is 537 times as great as the heat required to warm the same quantity of water one centigrade degree. (a) When a pound of steam is condensed, 537 heat units (pound-centigrade) are liberated. In this, we see an explanation of the familiar fact that scalding by steam is so painfully severe. Were it not for the latent heat of steam, when water reached its boiling point it would instantly flash into steam with tremendous explosion.