568 ON A NEW METHOD FOR ASCERTAINING 
vessel* a, the weight of the vessel when empty 
b, the resistance of its wire 7, and the increment 
of temperature 4.—the quantity of water in the 
other vessel a', the weight of that vessel along 
with the quantity of the same material put into 
it b', the resistance 7’, and the increment of 
temperature /': Also calling the specific heat 
of the material in question a; we obtain from 
equation 3 
a+ be tial + Bae 
whence Fea aap inh roiitants abe 
bh}r —bhr' 
Having thus ascertained the specific heat of 
the material of which the vessels are made, they 
may be employed as follows, for determining the 
specific heat of various kinds of matter. 
1.—Method with Liquids. One of the vessels 
must be filled with pure water, and the other 
with the liquid under examination. We may 
call the former the standard, and the latter the 
* The quantities « and a! of course include the weight of 
water equal in capacity to the thermometers, conducting wires, 
stirrers, &c. 
