Latent and Sensible Heat

Latent heat is not really heat you can feel, but energy required to break the molecular bonds that keep molecules in a single phase. For example, it is latent heat that is used when you boil water and form steam. Latent heat is absorbed from the surroundings to melt ice and evaporate water. This makes sense because water molecules vibrate faster than ice molecules (as any liquid has more energy than its corresponding solid state). Latent heat is released when you go the other direction: freezing water and condensing vapor. The concept of latent heat is crucial to understanding why clouds develop. As the water vapor in the air cools, it condenses, releasing huge amounts of energy that allow the cloud to develop further by decreasing stability.

When you touch a hot stove, the heat you feel is called sensible heat (because your sense of feel is able to react to it). Since temperature remains constant during a phase change, this flow of heat cannot be detected by a change in temperature. Sensible heat is a flow of heat which does cause a change in temperature, and thus can be sensed by humans. So, when boling a pot of water, the heat required to bring the water to the boiling point is sensible heat, and the heat required to convert the 100^oC HO from liquid to vapor is latent heat.