Sadi Carnot and the Thermodynamics of James Watt ()
ABSTRACT
A comparison of Carnot’s thermodynamic statements, published in his Reflections,
with the Watt’s thermodynamic ideas shows that Carnot used Watt’s thermodynamics,
but he did not understand it properly. For instance, he did not realize the Watt’s idea that production of work
in the steam engine requires a consumption of heat. Also, instead of the pressure
difference boiler-to-condenser, Carnot used the temperature difference to
be the direct quantity for the transport of caloric
in the engine. Many of Carnot’s statements are shown to express Watt’s ideas
in other wording. Watt realized the reversible heat transfer in experiment several
decades prior to Reflections. In addition, Carnot’s analogy of steam engine and
water fall, published 1824, has been invalidated, long before its birth, by the
Watt’s formulation of the first law in 1774. Despite these facts, James Watt is
banished from the history of thermodynamics.
Share and Cite:
Mitrovic, J. (2023) Sadi Carnot and the Thermodynamics of James Watt.
Advances in Historical Studies,
12, 47-62. doi:
10.4236/ahs.2023.122004.
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