of the metamorphosis of mechanical into thermal energy.
The Mechanical Equivalent of Heat.—The interpretation assumes a remarkable character of precision, which at once strikes the mind when physics applies to these transformations the almost absolute accuracy of its measurements. We then find that the rate of exchange is invariable. Transformations of heat into motion, and of motion into heat, take place according to a rigorous numerical law, which brings into exact correspondence the quantity of each. Mechanical effect is estimated, as we have seen, by work, that is in kilogrammetres. Heat is measured in calories, the calorie being the quantity of heat necessary to raise from 0°C to 1°C a kilogramme of water (Calorie) or one gramme of water (calorie). It is found that whatever may be the bodies and the phenomena which serve as intermediaries for carrying out this transformation, we must always expend 425 kilogrammetres to create a Calorie, or expend 0·00234 Calories to create a kilogrammetre. The number 425 is the mechanical equivalent of the Calorie, or, as is incorrectly stated, of the heat. It is this constant fact which constitutes the principle of the equivalence of heat and of mechanical work.
§ 5. Chemical Energy.
We cannot yet actually measure chemical activity directly, but we know that chemical action may give rise to all other phenomenal modalities. It is their most ordinary source, and it is to it that industries appeal to obtain heat, electricity, and mechanical
