36 Inquiry concerning the Nature of Heat, 



ner before described, and its vertical sides (which were 

 polished, and very clean and bright) exposed naked to 

 the air, was filled with water nearly boiling hot, and 

 placed on its wooden stand, on a table, in a large quiet 

 room to cool ; the air of the room being at the tem- 

 perature of 45 Fahrenheit. 



Another cylindrical vessel, No. 2, in all respects like 

 No. i, and with its ends covered in the same manner, 

 but with its vertical sides covered with a single covering 

 of fine Irish linen (such as is sold in London for about 

 4 s. per yard), closely applied to the body of the instru- 

 ment, was filled with hot water at the same time, and 

 placed on the same table to cool. 



This experiment lasted many hours ; and, in that 

 period, the temperature of the water in each of the 

 instruments was carefully observed and noted down a 

 great number of times. 



The result of this experiment (the details of which 

 have already been given) was very remarkable. 



While the instrument No. i, whose sides were naked, 

 employed 55 minutes in cooling from the point of 94 

 to that of 84, the instrument No. 2, whose sides were 

 covered with linen, cooled through the same interval in 

 36! minutes. 



Hence it appears that clothing may, in some cases, 

 expedite the passage of heat out of a hot body, instead 

 of confining it in it. 



Desirous of seeing whether the same covering would, 

 or would not, expedite the passage of heat into the in- 

 strument, after having suffered both instruments to 

 cool down to the temperature of about 42, I removed 

 them into a warm room, in which the air was at the 

 temperature of 62; and I found that the instrument 



