ON A NEW METHOD 
FOR ASCERTAINING THE 
SPECIFIC HEAT OF BODIES. 
By JAMES P. JOULE, Esa., 
Secy. of the Lity. and Phil. Society, Mem. Chem. Society, London, &c. 
(Read December 2nd, 1845.) 
Turexr methods have been employed by natural 
philosophers, in order to determine the specific 
heat of bodies. These are, Ist, The method of 
the calorimeter ; 2nd, The method of mixtures ; 
and, 3rd, The method of cooling. 
The first of these methods consists, as is well 
known, in plunging a heated body, the tempera- 
ture of which has been carefully ascertained, into 
ice, and observing the quantity of water produced 
by the cooling of the body to the freezing tem- 
perature. Lavoisier and Laplace employed this 
