Chapter 175: [The First Law of Thermodynamics]

The birth of truth is often not achieved overnight, and the same is true for the acceptance of truth.

For example, the law of conservation of energy was actually proposed in 1842, but it was not recognized by physicists until last year.

Moreover, it was not an absolute recognition, and voices of doubt still existed. It was far from the well-known basic law of physics in later generations.

Another example is the understanding of "heat".

This is one of the most famous debates in physics, comparable to the dispute between light waves and photons.

In this era and even earlier, many scientists believed that heat was a certain kind of substance called "caloric mass."

In contrast, some scientists believe that heat is a manifestation of movement.

In the end, history proved that the "thermal theory" was closer to the truth.

Joule was a staunch supporter and die-hard fan of the "thermal theory".

As expected, Joule found it a little unbelievable when he heard what Ma Shao said: "You...you are an Indian, right?"

No one is free from prejudice, not even Joule.

In the subconscious of most white people, Indians and science are two completely unrelated concepts.

Even those who wished to show genuine kindness to the Indians would not suppose that any Indian understood science.

"Yes, the Apaches of the plains." Ma Shao nodded. "Just a few days ago, when I first arrived in England, I had nine feathers tied on my head, and then I had to change into this outfit."

"I am an Indian, but who says Indians can't understand physics, Mr. Joule?"

Mayo smiled and said, "Joule, you must not underestimate Chief Ma Shao. His understanding of science is at least far better than mine. In fact, he came to visit you in Manchester just to discuss physics with you."

"I'm sorry for my impoliteness just now." Joule's attitude became much more sincere, and then a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face. He looked up at Ma Shao and said, "Um... what's your name?"

"Horse whistle."

"Oh, Mr. Ma Shao." Joule nodded, and then said, "Sit down first, you can try my beer later."

"Thank you very much."

After both parties sat down, Ma Shao and Joule started talking about physics.

Joule was already convinced that the Indian before him was not an ignorant savage.

And he soon realized that Ma Shao was not stupid, but had a deep understanding of physics, just as Mayo had said.

At the same time, Ma Shao's recognition of theories such as the thermodynamic theory also made him feel close to him.

He had been questioned a lot, even by Faraday, so he was willing to show enthusiasm to his supporters.

The two of them had more and more topics to talk about.

"...In my opinion, Earl Rumford's gun barrel experiment is enough to disprove the caloric theory." Ma Shao said.

"The supporters of the caloric theory believe that heat is a substance and is conserved. But when the gunner bores the barrel of the gun, heat is continuously generated. As long as the boring is going on, the heat output will not decrease in any way. The heat generated by friction is endless."

"Obviously, heat cannot be a substance, otherwise the gunsmith would be creating matter and violating the law of conservation."

Quantum mechanics allows some situations to happen out of nothing, but it is obviously inappropriate to talk about quantum mechanics in this era.

It is more than enough for Ma Shao to just talk about the classic conservation.

Joule was very impressed by this. He put down the beer glass in his hand and said with admiration: "Yes, it's absolutely right. I think so too!"

"Conservation should be the most basic law of the universe and the privilege of the Creator. Heat and mass do not even follow the law of conservation. This is undoubtedly absurd!"

"It's really hard to understand why some people still believe in this theory." He took another sip of beer and sighed, "They have no respect for the Creator."

Joule had an extremely strong insistence on conservation, and one of the important reasons was his belief.

Of course, he did not believe in those strange myths and legends, but he believed that there was a supreme creator in the universe who had the privilege of creation and destruction.

No one except the Creator can violate the law of conservation.

This kind of thinking is not uncommon among Western scientists.

There are very few scientists who believe in religion, and the number is decreasing. They are hardly convinced by ghost stories that lack imagination.

But scientists who held theistic views were quite common, especially in this era and earlier.

Ma Shao: "Yes, conservation should be the most basic law of physics."

"Conservation of matter, conservation of charge, conservation of energy... these should be eternal and can only be transformed from one form to another."

"Compared to the conservation of heat and mass, which was exposed in the Rumford experiment, the conservation of energy is undoubtedly the truth."

Ma Shao paused for a moment and said, "I think that the so-called heat of an object is actually a reflection of the average kinetic energy of its molecules."

"The average kinetic energy of molecules!" Joule's eyes suddenly lit up after hearing this.

Although the theory of thermodynamics has a long history, it is still, to a large extent, a philosophical cognition and is very vague.

The first person to make a quantitative analysis of this was Euler, but Euler did not follow through. He just made some calculations and put it aside, and it did not have much impact.

So to this day, although more and more scientists believe in the theory of thermal motion, there is still no clear idea about how movement is reflected as heat.

Ma Shao's words were quite specific, making Joule feel somewhat enlightened.

"It's a very good idea," Joule said. "It has mathematical consequences."

Ma Shao added: "Joule, thanks to the efforts of many outstanding physicists including you, people have gradually come to know the law of conservation of energy, but if I may be frank, I think it is not perfect enough."

Joule was about to continue speaking when he couldn't help but frown and said, "Oh?"

"First of all, its name," said Ma Shao. "I think it should not be called the 'Law of Conservation of Energy'. In other words, it should not just be called this name. It can have a richer connotation."

Joule: "What should it be called?"

"The first law of thermodynamics." Ma Shao said slowly.

"Thermodynamics..." Joule muttered this new term, thinking for a moment.

Ma Shao: "That's right. The theory of caloric mass is full of errors and omissions. It neither follows the law of conservation nor is it compatible with the kinetic theory of molecules. The study of heat should be phased out."

"Now, we should create a new branch of physics based on the theory of heat kinetics, and call it 'thermodynamics'."

After a pause, he continued, "And the law of conservation of energy should undoubtedly be the basic law of this new discipline, the first law of thermodynamics."