Page:Conservationofen00stew.djvu/121

Rh electricity, we have an electric nucleus, such as we have supposed to reside in the prime conductor of a machine; and advantage may be taken, as we have seen, of this nucleus in order to generate a vast quantity of statical electricity, without any permanent alteration of the nucleus, but not without the expenditure of work.

147. We have now seen under what conditions the visible energy of actual motion may be changed—1stly, into energy of position; 2ndly, into the two energies which embrace absorbed heat; 3rdly, into electrical separation; and finally into electricity in motion. As far as we know, visible energy cannot directly be transformed into chemical separation, or into radiant energy.

148. Having thus exhausted the transmutations of the energy of visible motion, we next turn to that of position, and find that it is transmuted into motion, but not immediately into any other form of energy; we may, therefore, dismiss this variety at once from our consideration.

149. Coming now to these two forms of energy which embrace absorbed heat, we find that this may be converted into (A) or actual visible energy in the case of the steam-engine, the air-engine, and all varieties of heat engines. In the steam-engine, for instance, part of the