

WILLIAM SfKMENS, F.R.S. 189 



Europe, who lives on the fruit of the land, but cannot hut appear 

 highly unsatisfactory to an audience such as I have the honour of 

 addressing. 



Tho sun makes his appearance to the inhabitants of Glasgow at 

 somewhat rare intervals, I am told, and it might be supposed from 

 this fact that his action is correspondingly unimportant to their 

 well-being. Such is not, however, the case, as it can easily be 

 proved that the action of the solar ray is as potential in its results 

 at Glasgow as in Central Africa. The very clouds that so fre- 

 quently obstruct the direct rays of the sun are the result of his 

 evaporative effect exercised upon the Atlantic Ocean. The steam 

 raised there by the sun's heat condenses when driven by the prevailing 

 south-west wind against your elevated shores, and, in condensing, 

 produces a temperature which makes your northern climate as tem- 

 perate almost as that of Southern Europe. You are furnished at the 

 same time with an abundance of rain water, which, as I shall pre- 

 sently show, could be made serviceable for a supply of mechanical 

 power, and even of heat and light, to an amount vastly superior 

 to the total energy you now derive from coal. 



These observations may suffice to define generally our present 

 standpoint of scientific knowledge regarding energy in its different 

 forms. It is not my purpose to penetrate deeper into this new branch 

 of science, which we owe to the illustrious persons whose names I 

 have mentioned, but my task is the more humble, though, perhaps, 

 not less useful one of considering some of the applications of this 

 science for our material wants. It is in this direction that my 

 individual efforts have been exerted ever since the year 1840, 

 when, fired up by the first announcement of the labours of Carnot, 

 Grove, Joule, and Mayer, I conceived the possibility of realising 

 at least a portion of the economical results revealed to us by 

 scientific research. 



An inquiry into the economical results of the caloric motors of 

 the day, by the light of the Dynamical Theory of Heat, revealed 

 to me the fact that the best steam engine of that day yielded only 

 about -^ part of the mechanical effect of the heat consumed, the 

 remaining -^ being lost in the form of heated products of com- 

 bustion passing away up the chimney, and in heating the water 

 inside the condenser. It appeared as though the great inheritance 

 bequeathed to us by "Watt, had nearly accomplished its mission, 



