An enquiry concerning the nature of heat, and the mode of its communication

Abstract

The importance of the investigation here entered into,—inasmuch as it applies to most of the operations of nature as well as art,—appears so manifest, that we shall not recapitulate what the author advances on that subject. Before he proceeds to the detail of his experiments for the purpose of computing the emissions of heat from various bodies under a variety of circumstances, he finds it necessary to premise a minute description of the principal part of the apparatus he contrived for his purpose. This instrument consists of a hollow cylindrical vessel of brass, four inches long, and as many in diameter. It is closed at both ends; but has at one end a cylindrical neck about eight-tenths of an inch in diameter, by which it is occasionally filled with water of different temperatures, and through which also a thermometer, constructed for the purpose, is occasionally introduced, in order to ascertain the changes of temperature in the fluid. As it was in the first instance only meant to observe the quantity of heat that escapes through the sides of the vessel, two boxes were contrived, filled and covered with non-conducting substances, such as eiderdown, fur, &c., which were fitted to the two ends or flat surfaces of the cylinder. Six of these instruments, with proper stands, and auxiliary implements of obvious construction, were prepared for the sake of comparative experiments. A previous trial was made with two of the cylinders, the vertical polished sides of the one being naked, and those of the other covered with one thickness of fine white Irish linen, strained over the metallic surface. Here it was found, contrary to expectation, that in a certain space of time the covered cylinder had lost considerably more heat than the naked one.