Part 8
Previously to ordering these globes, I exposed to a like degree of fire, a square mass of iron, and another of lead of two inches diameter, and found, by reiterated essays, that lead heated and cooled in much less time than iron. I made the same experiment on red copper, and that required more time to heat and cool than lead, and less than iron. So that of these three matters, iron appeared the least accessible to heat, and, at the same time, that which retained it the longest. From which I learn that the law of the progress of heat in bodies was not proportionable to their density, since lead, which is more dense than iron or copper, nevertheless heats and cools in less time than either. As this object appeared important, I was induced to have these globes made, and to be more perfectly satisfied of the progress of heat in a great number of different matters, I always placed the globes at an inch distance from each other, before the same fire, or in the same oven, 2, 3, 4, or 5, together with a globe of tin in the midst of them. In most of my experiments I suffered them to be exposed to the same active fire till the globe of tin began to melt, and at that instant they were all removed, and placed on a table in small cases. I suffered them to cool without moving, often trying whether I could touch them, and the moment they left off burning, and I could hold them in my hands half a second, I marked the time which had passed since I drew them from the fire. I afterwards suffered them to cool to the actual temperature, of which I endeavoured to judge by means of touching other small globes of the same matters that had not been heated. Of all the matters which I put to the trial, there was only sulphur which melted in a less degree of heat than tin, and notwithstanding its disagreeable smell I should have taken it for a term of comparison, but being a brittle matter which diminishes by friction, I preferred tin, although it required nearly double the heat to melt.
Having heated together bullets of iron, copper, lead, tin, gres, and Montbard marble, they cooled in the following order:
_So as to be held in the hand _To actual temperature._ for half a second._ Min. Min. Tin in 6-1/2 In 16 Lead in 8 In 17 Gres in 9 In 19 Common marble in 10 In 21 Copper in 11-1/2 In 30 Iron in 13 In 38
By a second experiment with a fiercer fire, sufficient to melt the tin bullet, the five others cooled.
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Lead in 10-1/2 In 42 Gres in 12-1/2 In 46 Common marble 13-1/2 In 50 Copper 19-1/2 In 51 Iron 23-1/2 In 54
By a third experiment, with a less degree of fire than the preceding, the same bullets with a fresh tin bullet, cooled in the following manner.
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Tin in 7-1/2 In 25 Lead in 9-1/2 In 25 Gres in 10-1/2 In 37 Common marble 12 In 39 Copper 14 In 44 Iron 17 In 50
From these experiments, which I made with as much precision as possible, we may conclude, first, that the time of refrigeration of iron, so as to be held in the hand, is to that of copper : : 53-1/2 : 45, and so to the point of temperature : : 142 : 125.
2dly, That the time of refrigeration of iron, so as to be held in the hand, is to that of the first refrigeration of common marble : : 53-1/2 : 35-1/2 and their entire refrigeration : : 142 : 110.
3dly, that the time of refrigeration of iron, to that of gres, so as to be held in the hand, is : : 53-1/2 : 32 and : : 142 : 102-1/2, for their entire refrigeration.
4thly, That the time of refrigeration of iron to that of lead, so as to be held in the hand, is : : 53-1/2 : 27 and 142 : 94-1/2 for their entire refrigeration.
In an oven hot enough to melt tin, although all the coals and cinders were drawn out, I placed, on a piece of iron wire, five bullets, distant from one another about nine lines, after which the oven was shut, and having drawn them out, in about 18 minutes they cooled,
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Melted tin in 8 In 24 Silver in 14 In 40 Gold in 15 In 46 Copper in 16-1/2 In 50 Iron in 18 In 56
In the same oven, but with a slower heat, the same bullets with an other bullet of tin, cooled,
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Tin in 7 In 20 Silver in 11 In 56 Gold in 12-1/2 In 40 Copper in 14 In 43 Iron in 16-1/2 In 47
In the same oven, but with a still less degree of heat, the same bullets cooled,
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Tin in 6 In 17 Silver in 9 In 26 Gold in 9-1/2 In 28 Copper in 10 In 31 Iron in 11 In 35
Having placed in the same oven five other bullets, placed the same and separated from each other, their refrigeration was in the following proportions.
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Antimony in 6-1/2 In 25 Bismuth in 7 In 26 Lead in 8 In 27 Zinc in 10-1/2 In 30 Emery in 11-1/2 In 38
In the same oven, and in the same manner, another bullet of Bismuth was placed, with six other bullets, which cooled,
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Antimony in 6 In 23 Bismuth in 6 In 25 Bismuth in 6 In 25 Lead in 7-1/2 In 28 Silver in 9-1/2 In 30 Zinc in 10-1/2 In 32 Gold in 11-1/2 In 34 Emery in 13-1/2 In 39
There was put in the same oven a bullet of glass, another of tin, one of copper, and one of iron, and they cooled,
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Tin in 8 In 27 Glass in 8-1/2 In 22 Copper in 14 In 42 Iron in 16 In 50
Bullets of gold, glass, porcelain, gypsum, and gres, were heated together, and cooled,
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Gypsum in 8 In 24 Porcelain in 8-1/2 In 25 Glass in 2 In 26 Gres in 10 In 32 Gold in 14-1/2 In 45
Bullets of silver, common marble, hard stone, white marble, and soft calcareous stone of Anieres, near Dijon, were heated like the former, and cooled,
_So as to be held in the hand._ _To actual temperature._ Min. Min. Soft calcareous stone in 8 In 25 Hard stone in 10 In 34 Common marble in 11 In 35 White marble in 12 In 36 Silver in 13-1/2 In 40
The whole of these experiments were made with the utmost care and attention, not only by myself but in the presence of several persons, who also endeavoured to judge of the first degree of temperature by holding the bullets for half a second in their hands, and the relations of which are more exact than those of the actual temperature, because that being variable the result must sometimes vary also.
With a view to avoid that prolixity which would necessarily attend the continual repetition in a comparative statement of the refrigeration of these different bodies, we have connected them in a general table, and taking 10,000 for the standard of comparison, their differences may be seen at one view.
A TABLE
OF THE
_Relations of different Mineral Substances._
IRON, with
First Entire Refrig. Refrig.
Emery 10000 to 9117 -- 9020 Copper ---- to 8512 -- 8702 Gold ---- to 8160 -- 8148 Zinc ---- to 7653 -- 6020 6804 Silver ---- to 7619 -- 7423 Marble White ---- to 6774 -- 6704 Marble common ---- to 6636 -- 6746 Stone calcareous hard ---- to 6617 -- 6274 Gres ---- to 5596 -- 6926 Glass ---- to 5576 -- 5805 Lead ---- to 5143 -- 6482 Tin ---- to 4898 -- 4921 Stone calcareous soft ---- to 4194 -- 4659 Clay ---- to 4198 -- 4490 Bismuth ---- to 3580 -- 4081 Chalk ---- to 3086 -- 3878 Gum ---- to 2325 -- 2817 Wood ---- to 1890 -- 1594 Pumice-stone ---- to 1627 -- 1268
EMERY, with
Copper 10000 to 8519 -- 8148 Gold ---- to 8513 -- 8560 Zinc ---- to 8390 -- 7693 7458 Silver ---- to 7778 -- 7895 Stone calcareous hard ---- to 7304 -- 6963 Gres ---- to 6552 -- 6517 Glass ---- to 5862 -- 5506 Lead ---- to 5718 -- 6643 Zinc ---- to 5658 -- 6000 Clay ---- to 5185 -- 5185 Bismuth ---- to 4949 -- 6060 Antimony ---- to 4540 -- 5827 Oker ---- to 4259 -- 3827 Chalk ---- to 3684 -- 4105 Gypsum ---- to 2368 -- 2947 Wood ---- to 1552 -- 3146
COPPER, with
Gold 10000 to 9136 -- 9194 Zinc ---- to 8571 -- 9250 7619 Silver ---- to 8395 -- 7823 Marble common ---- to 7639 -- 8019 Gres ---- to 7333 -- 8160 Glass ---- to 6667 -- 6567 Lead ---- to 6179 -- 7367 Lead ---- to 6179 -- 7367 Tin 10000 to 5746 -- 6916 Stone calcareous tender ---- to 5168 -- 5633 Clay ---- to 5652 -- 6363 Bismuth ---- to 5686 -- 5959 Antimony ---- to 5130 -- 5808 Oker ---- to 5003 -- 4697 Chalk ---- to 4068 -- 4368
GOLD, with
Zinc 10000 to 2474 -- 9304 8422 Silver ---- to 8936 -- 8686 Marble white ---- to 8101 -- 7863 Marble common ---- to 7342 -- 7434 Stone calcareous hard ---- to 7383 -- 7516 Gres ---- to 7368 -- 7627 Glass ---- to 7103 -- 5232 Lead ---- to 6526 -- 7500 Tin ---- to 6324 -- 6051 Stone calcareous soft ---- to 6087 -- 5811 Clay ---- to 5811 -- 5077 Bismuth ---- to 5658 -- 7043 Porcelain ---- to 5526 -- 5593 Antimony ---- to 5395 -- 6348 Oker ---- to 5349 -- 4462 Chalk ---- to 4571 -- 4452 Gypsum ---- to 2989 -- 3293
ZINC, with
Silver 10000 to 8904 -- 8990 10015 Marble white ---- to 8305 -- 8424 7194 Gres ---- to 6242 -- 7333 5838 Lead ---- to 6051 -- 7947 4940 Tin ---- to 6777 -- 6240 5666 Stone calcareous soft ---- to 5536 -- 7719 4425 Clay ---- to 5484 -- 7458 4373 Bismuth ---- to 5343 -- 7547 4232 Antimony ---- to 5246 -- 6608 4135 Chalk ---- to 3729 -- 5862 2618 Gypsum ---- to 3409 -- 4261 2298
SILVER, with
Marble white 10000 to 8681 -- 9200 Marble common ---- to 7912 -- 9040 Stone calcareous hard ---- to 7436 -- 8580 Gres ---- to 7361 -- 7767 Glass ---- to 7230 -- 7212 Lead ---- to 7154 -- 9184 Tin ---- to 6176 -- 6289 Stone calcareous soft ---- to 6178 -- 6289 Clay ---- to 6034 -- 6710 Bismuth ---- to 6308 -- 8877 Porcelain ---- to 5556 -- 5242 Antimony ---- to 5692 -- 7653 Oker ---- to 5000 -- 5668 Chalk ---- to 4310 -- 5000 Gypsum ---- to 2879 -- 3366 Wood ---- to 2253 -- 1864 Pumice-stone ---- to 2059 -- 1525
WHITE MARBLE, with
Marble common 10000 to 8992 -- 9405 Stone hard ---- to 8594 -- 9130 Gres ---- to 8286 -- 8990 Lead ---- to 7604 -- 5555 Tin ---- to 7143 -- 6792 Stone calcareous soft ---- to 6792 -- 7281 Clay ---- to 6400 -- 6286 Antimony ---- to 6286 -- 6792 Oker ---- to 5400 -- 5571 Gypsum ---- to 4920 -- 5116 Wood ---- to 2200 -- 2857
COMMON MARBLE, with
Stone hard 10000 to 9483 -- 9665 Gres ---- to 8767 -- 9273 Lead ---- to 7671 -- 8590 Tin ---- to 7424 -- 6666 Stone soft ---- to 7327 -- 7959 Clay ---- to 7272 -- 7213 Antimony ---- to 6279 -- 8333 Oker ---- to 6136 -- 6393 Chalk ---- to 5581 -- 6333 Wood ---- to 2500 -- 3279
HARD CALCAREOUS STONE, with
Gres 10000 to 9268 -- 9355 Glass ---- to 8710 -- 8352 Lead ---- to 8571 -- 7931 Tin ---- to 1095 -- 7931 Stone soft ---- to 8000 -- 8095 Clay ---- to 6190 -- 6897 Oker ---- to 4762 -- 5517 Wood ---- to 2195 -- 4516
GRES, with
Glass 10000 to 9324 -- 7939 Lead ---- to 8561 -- 8950 Tin ---- to 7667 -- 7633 Stone soft ---- to 7644 -- 7193 Porcelain ---- to 7364 -- 7059 Antimony ---- to 7333 -- 6170 Gypsum ---- to 4568 -- 5000 Wood ---- to 2368 -- 4828
GLASS, with
Lead 10000 to 9318 -- 8548 Tin ---- to 9107 -- 8679 Clay ---- to 7938 -- 7643 Porcelain ---- to 7692 -- 8863 Oker ---- to 6289 -- 6500 Chalk ---- to 6104 -- 6195 Gypsum ---- to 4160 -- 6011 Wood ---- to 2647 -- 5514
LEAD, with
Tin 10000 to 8695 -- 8333 Stone soft ---- to 8437 -- 7192 Clay ---- to 7878 -- 8536 Bismuth ---- to 8698 -- 8750 Antimony ---- to 8241 -- 8201 Oker ---- to 6060 -- 7073 Chalk ---- to 5714 -- 6111 Gypsum ---- to 4736 -- 5714
TIN, with
Clay 10000 to 8823 -- 9524 Bismuth ---- to 8889 -- 9400 Antimony ---- to 8710 -- 9156 Oker ---- to 5882 -- 7619 Chalk ---- to 6394 -- 6842 Gypsum ---- to 4090 -- 4912
STONE CALCAREOUS SOFT, with
Antimony 10000 to 7742 -- 9542 Chalk ---- to 7288 -- 7312 Gypsum ---- to 4182 -- 5211
CLAY, with
Bismuth 10000 to 8870 -- 9416 Oker ---- to 8400 -- 8571 Chalk ---- to 7701 -- 8000 Gypsum ---- to 5185 -- 8055 Wood ---- to 3437 -- 4545
BISMUTH, with
Antimony 10000 to 9349 -- 9572 Oker ---- to 8846 -- 7380 Chalk ---- to 8020 -- 9500
PORCELAIN, with
Gypsum 10000 to 5301 -- 6500
ANTIMONY, with
Chalk 10000 to 8431 -- 7391 Gypsum ---- to 3833 -- 5476
OKER, with
Chalk 10000 to 8954 -- 8889 Gypsum ---- to 6364 -- 9062 Wood ---- to 4074 -- 5128
CHALK, with
Gypsum 10000 to 6667 -- 7920
GYPSUM, with
Wood 10000 to 8000 -- 5260 Pumice-stone ---- to 7099 -- 4560
WOOD, with
Pumice-stone 10000 to 8750 -- 8182
Notwithstanding the assiduity I used in my experiments, and the care I took to render the relations exact, I own there are still some imperfections in the foregoing table; but the defects are trivial, and do not much influence the general results; for example, it will easily be perceived, that the relation of zinc to lead being 10,000 to 6,051, that of zinc to tin should be less than 6,000, whereas it is found 6,777 in the table. It is the same with respect of silver to bismuth, which ought to be less than 6,308, and also with regard of lead to clay, which ought to be more than 8,000, but in the table is only 7,878. This difference proceeded from the leaden and bismuth bullets not being always the same; they melted, as well as those of tin and antimony, and, therefore, could not fail to produce variations, the greatest of which are the three I have just remarked. It was not possible for me to do better; the different bullets of lead, tin, bismuth, and antimony, which I successively made use of, were made in the same manner, but the matter of each might be somewhat different, according to the quantity of the alloy in the lead and tin, for I had pure tin only for the two first bullets; besides, there remains very often a small cavity in the melted bullet, and these little causes are sufficient to produce the little differences which may be remarked in the table.
On the whole, to draw from these experiments all the profit that can be expected, the matters which compose their object must be divided into four classes, viz. 1. Metals. 2. Semi-metals and Metallic Minerals. 3. Vitreous and Vitrescible Substances. And 4. Calcareous and Calcinable substances. Afterwards the matters of each class must be compared between themselves to discover the cause, or causes, or the order which follows the progress of heat in each, and then with each other, in order to deduce some general results.
First. The order of the six metals, according to their _density_, is tin, iron, copper, silver, lead, and gold; whereas the order in which they receive and lose their heat is tin, lead, silver, gold, copper, and iron; so that in tin alone it retains its place.
The progress and duration of heat in metals does not then follow the order of their density, except in tin, which being the least dense, is also that which soonest loses its heat; but the order of the five other metals demonstrates that it is in relation to their fusibility that they all receive and loose heat; for iron is more difficult to melt than copper, copper more than gold, gold more than silver, silver more than lead, lead more than tin; and therefore we may conclude that it is only by chance if the density and fusibility of tin be found so united as to place it in the last rank. Nevertheless, it would be advancing too much to pretend that we must attribute all to fusibility, and nothing to density. Nature never deprives herself of one of her properties in favour of another in an absolute manner; that is to say, in a mode that the first has not any influence on the second. Thus, density may be of some weight in the progress of heat; but we may safely affirm, that in the six metals it has very little comparatively with fusibility.
This fact was neither known to chemists nor naturalists; they did not even imagine that gold which is more than twice as dense as iron, nevertheless loses its heat near a third sooner. It is the same with lead, silver, and copper, which are all more dense than iron, and which, like gold, heat and cool more readily; for though the object of this, second memoir was only refrigeration, yet the experiments of the one that preceded it demonstrate, that there is ingress and egress of heat in bodies, and that those which receive it most quickly also lose it the soonest.
If we reflect on the real principles of density, and the cause of fusibility, we shall perceive, that density depends absolutely on the quantity of matter which Nature places in a given space; that the more she can make it enter therein, the more density there will be, and that gold, in this respect, is of all substances, that which contains the most matter relatively to its volume. It is for this reason that it has been hitherto thought, that more time is required to heat or cool gold than other metals; and it is natural enough to suppose, that containing double or treble the matter in the same volume, double or treble time would be required to penetrate it with heat; nay this would be true, if in every substance the constituent parts were of the same figure and ranged the same. But in the most dense the molecules of matter are, probably, of a figure sufficiently regular not to leave very void places between them; in others which are not so dense, and their figures more irregular, more vacuities are left, and in the lightest, the molecules being few, and most likely of a very irregular figure, a thousand times more void is found than plenitude; for it may be demonstrated by other experiments, that the volume of even the most dense substance contains more void space than full matter.