Is the Term Latent Heat a Misconception?

Jovan  Mitrovic

doi:10.4236/ahs.2022.112006

Jovan Mitrovic

Abstract: The term latent heat was coined by Joseph Black in 1762. The well-known scientist-engineer, James Watt, precisely determined its value of water by experiments 250 ago, with an accuracy that is comparable to our modern experiments. However, Rudolf Clausius, one of the founders of modern thermodynamics, stated in 1850 that this quantity not only is hidden (latent) but does even not exist. In this paper, we present Black’s model of latent heat, describe Watt’s experiments and shed some light on the motivation behind Clausius’s statement.

Keywords: Phase Transition, Latent Heat, Energy Conversion, Joseph Back, James Watt, Rudolph Clausius

Cite this paper: Mitrovic, J. (2022) Is the Term Latent Heat a Misconception?. Advances in Historical Studies, 11, 57-64. doi: 10.4236/ahs.2022.112006.

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