1840 Indian Rebirth

Chapter 176 [The First Law of Thermodynamics]

The birth of truth is often not achieved overnight, and the same is true for the acceptance of truth.

For example, the law of conservation of energy was actually proposed in 1842, but it was not recognized by physicists until last year.

And it is not an absolute approval, the voice of doubt still exists, far from the well-known basic law of physics in later generations.

Another example is the understanding of "heat".

It's one of the most famous debates in physics, rivaling the debate between light waves and photons.

In this era and even earlier, many scientists believed that heat was a specific substance called "thermal mass".

In contrast, some scientists believe that heat is a manifestation of motion.

In the end, history has proved that the "hot theory" is closer to the truth.

Joule is a staunch supporter and die-hard fan of the "hot theory".

Not surprisingly, Joule felt a little unbelievable when he heard what the horse whistle said: "You...you are an Indian, aren't you?"

No one is free from prejudice, and neither is Joule.

In the subconscious of most white people, Indians and science are two concepts that have nothing to do with each other.

Even those who are willing to treat Indians with genuine kindness do not think that any Indian understands science.

"That's right, the Apaches on the plain." Horse Whistle nodded, "Just a few days ago, when I first arrived in England, I still had nine feathers tied to my head, and then I had to change into this outfit."

"I'm an Indian, but who says Indians can't understand physics? Mr. Joule."

Mayo smiled and said: "Joule, you must not underestimate the Chief Horse Whistle. His understanding of science is at least far better than mine. In fact, he came to Manchester to visit you just to communicate with you about physics. study."

"I'm sorry for the rudeness just now." Joule's attitude became more sincere, and then a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face, and he looked up at the horse whistle, "Um...what's your name?"

"Horse whistle."

"Oh, Mr. Horse Whistle." Joule nodded, and then said, "Sit down first, and you can try my beer later."

"Thank you."

After the two parties were seated, Ma Wiao and Joule chatted about physics.

Joule already believed that the Indian in front of him was not an ignorant savage.

And he quickly realized that the horse whistle was not only not stupid, but also had a deep understanding of physics, just like Mayo said.

At the same time, Ma Shao's recognition of theories such as Redong theory also made him feel close.

He has been questioned a lot, even by Faraday, so he is willing to show enthusiasm to his supporters.

The more the two talked, the more topics they had.

"...In my opinion, Earl Rumford's barrel experiment is enough to negate the caloric theory." Horse Whistle said.

"The proponents of the heat mass theory believe that heat is a substance and is conserved. But when the gunner bores the barrel, the heat is continuously produced. As long as the boring is in progress, the heat output is no matter what. There will be no less, and the heat generated by friction is endless."

"Obviously, heat cannot be a substance, otherwise the gunsmith would be creating matter and breaking the conservation."

Quantum mechanics allows some situations that are created out of nothing, but it is obviously inappropriate to talk about quantum mechanics in this era.

The horse whistle only needs to talk about the classic conservation, which is more than enough.

Joule liked this very much, he couldn't help but put down the beer glass in his hand, and said with admiration: "That's right, it's so right, I think so too!"

"Conservation should be the most basic law of the universe, and it is the prerogative of the Creator. It is undoubtedly absurd not to observe the conservation of heat and mass!"

"It's really hard to understand why some people still believe in this theory." After finishing speaking, he took another sip of beer and sighed, "They have no respect for the Creator."

Joule has a particularly strong insistence on conservation, one of the important reasons is his belief.

Of course he doesn't believe in those weird myths and legends, but he believes that there is a supreme creator in the universe who holds the privilege of creation and destruction.

No one can break the law of conservation except the Creator.

Such thinking is not uncommon among Western scientists.

Scientists who believe in religion are few, and fewer and fewer, and those ghosts and gods and legends that lack imagination are hard to convince them.

But scientists who took a theistic standpoint were quite common, especially in this era and earlier.

Horse whistle: "Yes, conservation should be the most basic law of physics."

"Conservation of matter, conservation of charge, conservation of energy...these should be immortal, and can only be transformed from one form to another."

"Compared to the conservation of heat and mass that was exposed under the Renford experiment, the conservation of energy is undoubtedly the truth."

The whistle paused: "I think that the so-called heat of an object is actually a reflection of the average kinetic energy of its molecules."

"The average kinetic energy of molecules!" Joule's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this sentence.

Although the theory of heat movement has a long history, to a large extent, it is still a philosophical cognition, which is very vague.

Euler was the first to make a quantitative analysis of this, but Euler didn't do a good job to the end. He did some calculations and put them aside, and it didn't have a big impact.

So to this day, although more and more scientists believe in the theory of heat motion, they still don't have a clear idea of ​​how motion is reflected as heat.

The horse whistle has already said this sentence quite specifically, which makes Joule feel a little bit stunned.

"It's a good idea," said Joule, "and it can lead to mathematical results."

Ma Whistle said again: "Joule, with the efforts of many outstanding physicists including you, people have gradually understood the law of energy conservation, but with all due respect, I think it is not perfect yet."

Joule was about to continue to say something, when he heard the words, he couldn't help frowning, and said involuntarily, "Oh?"

"The first is its name." Ma Shao said, "I don't think it should be called the 'Law of Conservation of Energy', or in other words, it should not just be called this name, it can have richer connotations."

Joule: "What should it be called?"

"The first law of thermodynamics." Ma Whistle said slowly.

"Thermodynamics..." Joule muttered this new term, thoughtful for a while.

Ma Shao: "That's right, the heat-mass theory is full of mistakes and omissions. It neither follows conservation nor is it compatible with molecular kinetic theory. The heat science about it should be withdrawn from the stage of history."

"Now, we should create a new branch of physics, based on the thermodynamic theory, called 'thermodynamics'."

After a pause, he continued: "The law of conservation of energy should undoubtedly be the basic law of this new discipline, the first law of thermodynamics."

(End of this chapter)