It consisted essentially of a combustion
chamber formed of thin copper, gilt internally. The upper part of the
chamber was fitted with a cover through which the combustible could be
introduced, with a pipe for a gas jet, with a peep hole closed by
adiathermanous but transparent substances, alum and glass, and with a
branch leading to a thin copper coil surrounding the lower part of the
chamber and descending below it. The whole of this portion of the
apparatus was plunged into a thin copper vessel, silvered internally
and filled with water, which was kept thoroughly mixed by means of
agitators. This second vessel stood inside a third one, the sides and
bottom of which were covered with the skins of swans with the down on,
and the whole was immersed in a fourth vessel tilled with water, kept
at the average temperature of the laboratory. Suitable thermometers of
great delicacy were provided, and all manner of precautions were taken
to prevent loss of heat.
[Illustration: THE GENERATION OF STEAM. Fig 1.]
It is impossible not to admire the ingenuity and skill exhibited in
the details of the apparatus, in the various accessories for
generating and storing the gases used, and for absorbing and weighing
the products of combustion; but it is a matter of regret that the
experiments should have been carried out on so small a scale. For
example, the little cage which held the solid fuel tested was only 5/8
inch diameter by barely 2 inches high, and held only 38 grains of
charcoal, the combustion occupying about sixteen minutes.
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