Specific volume converter
Convert the space one kilogram takes up between m³/kg, L/kg and ft³/lb.
That's 1.23× as bulky as air at sea level, while steam at 100 °C is 1.67× bulkier. That is a density of 1 kg/m³.
What it means
How bulky is that?
Gases depend on temperature and pressure. Air and hydrogen here are at sea level; steam is saturated at 100 °C.
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Learn
Three things worth knowing
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Water is one litre per kilogram
That is 0.001 m³/kg, or about 0.016 ft³/lb. Anything with a bigger number floats; anything smaller sinks.
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Born in the steam tables
Steam-engine designers tabulated volume per pound of steam at each pressure. The same tables, now in m³/kg, still run every power station.
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Bigger means lighter
Because it is the inverse of density, a high specific volume means a light, airy substance. Reading it like density gets every comparison backwards.
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Background
About specific volume
Specific volume is the room one kilogram of a substance takes up. It is density turned upside down: water at 1,000 kg/m³ has a specific volume of 0.001 m³/kg.
Engineers reach for it with gases and steam, where the number changes enormously. Boiling water at atmospheric pressure grows about 1,600 times in volume.