A New System of Chemical Philosophy (Volume 1 ) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1808. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... NEW SYSTEM OF CHEMICAL PHILOSOPHY. CHAP. I. ON HEAT OR CALORIC. * X HE most probable opinion concerning the nature of caloric, is, that of its being an elastic fluid of great subtilty, the particles of which repel one another, but are attracted by all other bodies. When all surrounding bodies are of one temperature, then the heat attached to them is in a quiescent state; the absolute quantities of heat in any two bodies in this case are not equal, whether we take the bodies of equal weights or of equal bulks. Each kind of matter has its peculiar affinity for heat, by which it requires a certain portion of the fluid, in order to be in equilibrium with other bodies at a certain temperature. Were the whole quantities of heat in bodies of equal weight or bulk, or even the relative quantities, accurately ascertained, for any temperature, the numbers expressing those quantities would constitute a table of specific heats, analogous to a table of specific gravities, and would be an important acquisition to science. Attempts of this kind have been made with verv considerable success. Whether the specific heats, could they be thus obtained for one temperature, would express the relation at every other temperature, whilst the bodies retained their fiorm, is an enquiry of some moment. From the experiments hitherto made there seems little doubt of its being nearly so; but it is perhaps more correct to deduce the specific heat of bodies from equal bulks than from equal weights. It is very certain that the two methods will not give precisely the same results, because the expansions of different bodies by equal increments of temperature are not the same. But before this subject can well be considered, we should first settle what is intended to be meant by the word temperature. ...