6 Reynolds, Dryness of Saturated Steam. 



Results. 



The results obtained with these calorimeters have ap- 

 parently revealed the presence of anything up to 5 per 

 cent, more water in the samples than those revealed 

 by the simple separator, and this even when the steam 

 has been drained in the separator before passing into the 

 calorimeter. 



This apparent experimental evidence of previously un- 

 suspected water carried by steam has necessarily excited 

 great interest, and is naturally welcomed, as it ap- 

 parently brings the engines by so much nearer perfection. 



On second thoughts, however, a very serious con- 

 sideration will present itself, namely, that if the drained 

 steam from a separator contains latent water, the 

 drained steam from the separator on which Regnault 

 made his experiments must also have contained similar 

 latent water, and hence the theoretical volumes of steam, 

 which are based solely on these experiments, must be 

 subject to identically the same corrections as the observed 

 results, so that the discovery, if true, would thus leave the 

 percentage of theoretical performance unchanged, while it 

 would upset the truth of Regnault's results as to the 

 properties of steam — and, moreover, upset all other 

 deductions from these properties, including the deduc- 

 tions involved in these estimations. 



That such is the case cannot be admitted until after 

 the fullest consideration and verification of the experi- 

 ments and of the method of reduction by which the novel 

 results have been obtained. 



These experiments are many, and the methods of 

 reducing the results have not been very fully, although 

 widely, published, but in all that I have seen the 

 results have been deduced by means of the properties of 



