Milestones of Science Books

JOULE, James Prescott.

The Scientific Papers; Joint Scientific Papers.

London: The Physical Society of London, Taylor and Francis, 1884.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #002840

2 vols., 1884-1887, folding diagrams (some neat reinforcements to verso), illustrations, lacking portrait frontispiece, a couple of leaves with chips and marginal losses, later half calf. - Sparrow, Milestones of Science 113. - First Edition. Joule's papers, originally published in various learned journals and even in daily newspapers, are here collected: and they constitute a contribution to scientific progress hardly surpassed in the nineteenth century. The most important papers are those on the nature of heat: and Joule was the first to prove, what Mayer in 1842--45 assumed, the equivalence of heat produced to energy employed. Joule's Laws are the basis of the whole principle of the conservation of energy established by Helmholtz in 1847 (see No. 39). Among the inventions thrown out in his researches are the galvanometer, the modern system of electrical units, the measurement of the velocity of a particle of gas, the modern system of electrical welding, the first displacement pump, and the absolute zero of temperature. - Visit our website for additional images and information.

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