how many metres a kilogramme of water must fall in order to be heated one degree centigrade.
59. For a precise determination of this important point, we are indebted to Dr. Joule, of Manchester, who has, perhaps, done more than any one else to put the science of energy upon a sure foundation. Dr. Joule made numerous experiments, with the view of arriving at the exact relation between mechanical energy and heat; that is to say, of determining the mechanical equivalent of heat. In some of the most important of these he took advantage of the friction of fluids.
60. These experiments were conducted in the following manner. A certain fixed weight was attached to a pulley, as in the figure. The weight had, of course, a tendency
Fig. 4.
to descend, and hence to turn the pulley round. The pulley had its axle supported upon friction wheels, at ƒ and ƒ, by means of which the friction caused by the
