A thimbleful of water at 100 deg C has a higher temp than a swimming pool full of water at 20 deg C, but the pool has more thermal energy than the thimble. Explain why this is possbile?

Question

A thimbleful of water  at 100 deg C has a higher temp than a swimming pool full of water at 20 deg C, but the pool has more thermal energy than the thimble. Explain why this is possbile?

DrBob222 · Accepted Answer

Temperature is the DEGREE of heat while thermal energy is the AMOUNT of heat.
The swimming pool's heat content is
q = mass x specific heat water x T
The mass of the water in the swimming pool is so much larger than the mass of the water in the thimble, it is easy to see why q is so much larger for the swimming pool water. The thimble of water is HOTTER but it contains much less heat.