IN George Davidson Q1 1 Professor of Geography University of California THE FALLACY OF THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS AND THE Feasibility of Transmuting Terrestrial Heat Into Available Energy An addendum to essay on Means for Transmuting Terrestrial Heat into Available Energy" Read July 2, 1902, at the Pittsburg Meeting of the " Physical Section' of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. BY JACOB T. (WAINWRIGHT CIVIL ENGINEER CHICAGO 1902 ,','.: Qjif^j^o^ PREFACE. It is hoped that the most exacting critic will ap- preciate that the writer has herein succeeded in presenting this comparatively unexplored subject in a simple manner free from all questions of quan- tative analysis and unknown and doubtful matter. ABSTRACT. In order to prove the feasibility of utilizing common omni- present terrestrial heat as a substitute for fuel, it has been necessary to establish three new and important truths or advance- ments in the Science of Thermodynamics : FIRST: Refutation, or destruction of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. SECOND: Establishment of a new Thermodynamic principle. THIRD : Applying this new principle, so as to dispense with the external refrigerating medium which has heretofore been indispensable to the operation of all motive power heat engines- THE FALLACY OF THE Second Law of Thermodynamics AND THE Feasibility of Transmuting Terrestrial Heat Into Available Energy The Second Law of Thermodynamics was promulgated by Sadi Carnot, in the year 1824:. Was mathematically established by Professors Clausius and Thompson (Lord Kelvin), independ- ently by each, respectively in the years 1850 and 1851, on the same peculiar foundation (on laws which are now obsolete) and at a date when the laws of Boyle, Gay-Lussac, and Watt were con- sidered sufficiently accurate and applicable to all fluids within practical limits of temperature and pressure. And both investi- gators were particular to explain that the mathematical treatment and conclusions therefrom were based upon this assumption, which was only approximately correct at best, and applied only to limits of pressure and temperature that were then considered practicable; (Memoirs by Carnot, Clausius, and Thompson) (Translation by Professor Magie, of Princeton University; Har- per & Bros., Publishers, New York, 1899). Subsequently (in the year 1881), Professor Amagat demon- strated that the laws of Boyle and Gay-Lussac are very far from being true when the fluid's condition is near the critical-point. Also, recent progress in the art of liquefying gases at low tem- peratures has demonstrated that practical limits of temperature and pressure have increased to such an extent that the critical- point of many gases is readily attained. Consequently the Boyle and Gay-Lussac law must be abandoned, and Amagat's principle must be substituted. Thus the Thompson and Clausius assump- tion is no longer applicable, and their demonstration is destroyed. Amagat's demonstration of the impotency of the Boyle and Gay-Lussac law has been universally accepted, but the effect of his demonstration upon the establishment of the Second Law of Thermodynamics has not before been observed. 2.00 Atm. P. 25 50 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 Fig. 6. Figure 6 is an exact reproduction of a diagram of isother- nials relating to carbon-dioxide, made by Amagat (Annales de Chimie et de Physique, 6e Serie, t. xxix. 1893) (Translation by Professor Bams, of Brown University; Harper & Bros, publish- ers, New York, 1899) and is the result of actual research. The abscissas represent the pressures in atmospheres, while the ordi- nates represent the corresponding values of the product resulting from multiplying the pressure by the corresponding volume, oth- erwise designated as pv. The lowest isothermal shown by Amagat corresponds to the temperature of zero (274 degrees absolute) on the Centigrade-ther- mometer. Above the critical-pressure, and within the limits of his diagram, this isothermal is practically a straight line which, if pro- longed, passes through the origin of ordinates. This shows that, within these limits of pressure, this particular isothermal has con- stant volume for all degrees of pressure. Consequently, at or near this particular finite temperature, and within these limits of pressure, this particular fluid (carbon-dioxide) becomes hxnhi1,hj incompressible or inert, as regards the influence of pressure alone. Thus, this tiii]H>rf< in-, , ,) ////// two Isodiabatics" as a particular thermal prop- erty of a substance, which rcimiinx c< r