The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester - Joule and Energy
INTRODUCTION
THE EXPERIMENT
JOULE'S LIFE AND WORK
APPARATUS
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
GLOSSARY
This is page 5 of 10 - view page 4 - view page 6
How did Joule design his experiments and why did he use the apparatus he did?
Joule wanted to cause mechanical energy to disappear in as many ways as possible and to measure the amount of heat developed as a result.
The page from Joule's notebook (above right) shows his drawing of the apparatus for this experiment. If the weights descended slowly and uniformly, this work would all be expended in overcoming the resistance of the water to the motion of the paddlewheels through it.
Students at the University of Oldenburg, in Germany, recreated the experiment. They used the apparatus Joule described in his paper, (shown above, left) but did not get the same results. They produced a different version of the equipment - shown here - which did work. They also found it was necessary to have two people to carry out the experiment: one to wind up the weights and one to take the thermometer readings.
View a larger image of the apparatus used at the University of Oldenburg
This shows the value of recreating experiments rather than relying on reported descriptions.
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