mechanical equivalent of heat

American  

noun

1. (in any system of physical units) the number of units of work or energy equal to one unit of heat, as 4.1858 joules, which equals one small calorie.

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mechanical equivalent of heat British  

noun

1. J. physics a factor for converting units of energy into heat units. It has the value 4.1868 joules per calorie

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Etymology

Origin of mechanical equivalent of heat

First recorded in 1835–45

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mechanical equivalent of heat

The figure above shows one of Joule’s most famous experimental setups for demonstrating the mechanical equivalent of heat.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

Note that Example 14.2 is an illustration of the mechanical equivalent of heat.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

Figure 14.5 The smoking brakes on this truck are a visible evidence of the mechanical equivalent of heat.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

It was in this way that he was led to the determination of the so-called mechanical equivalent of heat, shortly before the same discovery was made in a quite different manner by Joule.

From Man or Matter by Ernst Lehrs

I believe that we shall, sooner or later, arrive at a mechanical equivalent of consciousness, just as we have arrived at a mechanical equivalent of heat.

From Lay Sermons, Addresses and Reviews by Thomas Henry Huxley

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