Why would one use the unit "calorie" in a physics class?
John Mallinckrodt responded:
Perhaps one wants quickly and approximately to specify the amount of
heat that must be "done" to raise the temperature of a gram of water by a
kelvin?
Herb says:
The trouble with using the calorie (or the bigger Calorie) as a unit, not
only adds unnecessary terms for the beginning physics students
to learn, but it tends to reinforce the discredited concept that heat
is an invisible substance (caloric) that can be added or removed
from matter.
Herb Gottlieb from New York City
(Where we supply approximately 4 joules of energy to raise the
temperature of our tap water or ocean water one degree kelvin)