The Discovery of Latent and Specific Heats
Jennifer Coopersmith · Oxford University Press eBooks · 2015
Black and also Wilcke discovered latent and specific heat (Black was helped by Fahrenheit’s earlier researches.) Black improved on the ‘method of mixtures’ (already used by Brook Taylor) and defined a quantitative measure for heat. He proclaimed that separate bodies strive to reach an equilibrium of temperature rather than heat. Prévost later gave a mechanism for this in his ‘Theory of Exchange’ (or idea of ‘dynamic equilibrium’). Crawford, while investigating the causes of ‘animal heat’, was the first to measure the specific heat of a gas. Irvine’s prediction of absolute temperature was ousted by Lavoisier’s work. Scheele discovered a new kind of heat, radiant heat, by applying astute reasoning to commonplace phenomena. Pictet and Ingen-Housz tried to measure the speed of heat radiation and heat conduction, respectively. Pictet also carried out an influential experiment on the radiation of ‘cold’.