2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
On Popularization of Theory of Heat among Engineers and its Application to the Steam Engine in the 19th Century
| Project/Area Number |
21700840
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Sociology/History of science and technology
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| Research Institution | Chiba Institute of Technology (2012)
Tokyo Institute of Technology (2009-2011) |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2009 – 2012
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| Keywords | 蒸気機関 / 熱素説 / 熱力学 / コーンウォール / Davies Gilbert / Jonathan Hornblower / Richard Trevithick / Arthur Woolf |
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| Research Abstract |
I focused on Davies Gilbert who was a central figure among Cornish engineers and scientists. Gilbert must have supported caloric theory. Although Davy, Count Rumford and Herapath advocated kinetic theory of heat, this theory was not applied to the cutting-edge steam engine at that time. According to some previous study, Gilbert was likely to a patron of engineers and scientists. However Authur Woolf reported adiabatic expansion of high-pressure steam in cylinders to Gilbert. That is to say, engineer did not only get coaching from scientist, but also engineer inform scientist of scientific knowledge. “Theory of the Steam Engine “which was based on caloric theory was popular among engineers in 1830-40’s and “Theory of the Steam Engine” was corrected by some engineers to adjust the real high-pressure steam engine. These engines and indicators were based on this correction.
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