caloric
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Why was the science of heat conduction so difficult to comprehend?
[Thomson] existed as scientist and technologist, academic and entrepreneur, a philosopher and a practical man rolled into one… [He] had been described in his lifetime as Britain’s and perhaps the world’s greatest scientist. – David Lindley [1] Thermodynamics developed rapidly in the early 1850s due largely to the rapid back-and-forth progress achieved between Rudolf Clausius… Continue reading
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Count Rumford – The Most Interesting Man in the World
I grew up on Kenneth Roberts’s historical-fiction novels set in the Revolutionary War era. Arundel, A Rabble in Arms, Northwest Passage. Each included historical figures, such as Major Robert Rogers, Benedict Arnold, and Philip Schuyler. His Oliver Wiswell introduced me to Benjamin Thompson, a man born in Woburn, Massachusetts, who dabbled in science, married into… Continue reading
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Heat Theories: A Brief Overview
To explore the challenges scientists faced in understanding heat, my illustrator Carly Sanker and I created a map (at bottom) outlining the evolution of heat theories, excerpted from my book. The material theories of phlogiston and caloric provided dead-end roads that confused many for many, many years. The mechanical theories eventually won the day in… Continue reading
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About Me
Hi! I’m Bob Hanlon. After earning my Sc.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and enjoying a long career in both industry and academia, I’ve returned to school, my own self-guided school, seeking to better understand the world of thermodynamics. Please join me on my journey.