Page:Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat.djvu/34

 inclined to regard as such, his process and argument are perfectly correct.

Throughout his whole work are distributed condensed assertions of principles now well recognized and fully established, which indicate that he not only had anticipated later writers in their establishment, but that he fully understood their real importance in a theory of heat-energy and of heat-engines. In fact, he often italicizes them, placing them as independent paragraphs to more thoroughly impress the reader with their fundamental importance. Thus he says: “Partout où il existe une différence de température, il pent y avoir production de puissance motrice;” and again, this extraordinary anticipation of modern science: “le maximum de puissance résultant de l'emploi de la vapeur est aussi le maximum de puissance motrice réalisable par quelque moyen que ce soit.”

“La puissance motrice de la chaleur est indépendante des agents mis en œuvre pour la réaliser; sa quantité est fixée uniquement par les