88 NEW THEORY OF THE STEAM ENGINE. 



power of the steam engine arises simply from the passage 

 of heat from a hot to a cold body, no heat being necessarily 

 lost during the transfer. This view has been adopted by 

 Mr. E. Clapeyron in a very able theoretical paper, of which 

 there is a translation in the third part of Taylor's "Scientific 

 Memoirs." This philosopher agrees with Mr. Carnot in 

 referring the power to vis viva, developed by the caloric, 

 contained by the vapour, in its passage from the temperature 

 of the boiler to the temperature of the condenser. I con- 

 ceive that this theory, however ingenious, is opposed to the 

 recognised principles of philosophy, because it leads to the 

 conclusion that the vis viva may be destroyed by an improper 

 distribution of the apparatus. Thus Mr. Clapeyron draws the 

 inference that 'the temperature of the fire being from iooo°(C) 

 to 2000° (C) higher than the boiler, there is an enormous loss 

 of vis viva in the passage of the heat from the furnace to the 

 boiler.' Believing that the power of destroying things belongs 

 to the Creator alone, I entirely coincide with Roget and Fara- 

 day* in the opinion that in any theory which,when carried out, 

 demands the annihilation of force, is necessarily erroneous. 

 The principles, however, which I have advanced in this 

 paper are free from this difficulty. From them we may infer 

 that the steam while expanding in the cylinder loses heat in 

 quantity exactly proportional to the mechanical force which 

 it communicates by means of the piston, and that on con- 

 densation of the steam the heat, thus converted into power, 

 is not given back. Supposing no loss by radiation, etc., the 

 theory here advanced demands that the heat given out in 

 the condenser shall be less than that communicated to the 



* It was perpetual motion not annihilation of force — a very different thing- 

 to which these objected. — See Note A. 



