Heat capacity properties are often prefixed with the term "specific". International standards now recommend that specific heat capacity always refer to division by mass. The units for the specific heat capacity are formula_7. In chemistry, heat capacity is often specified relative to one mole, the unit of amount of substance, and is called the molar heat capacity. It has the unit formula_8. For some considerations it is useful to specify the volume-specific heat capacity, commonly called volumetric heat capacity, which is the heat capacity per unit volume and has SI units formula_9. This is used almost exclusively for liquids and solids, since
Arbitrary unit (such as "p.d.u./L"). Arbitrary unit In science and technology, an arbitrary unit (abbreviated arb. unit, "see below") or procedure defined unit (p.d.u.) is a relative unit of measurement to show the ratio of amount of substance, intensity, or other quantities, to a predetermined reference measurement. The reference measurement is typically defined by the local laboratories or dependent on individual measurement apparatus. It is therefore impossible to compare "1 arb. unit" by one measurer and "1000 arb. unit" by another measurer without detailed prior knowledge on how the respective "arbitrary units" were defined; thus, the unit is sometimes called an unknown