Inhaltsangabe
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1827. Excerpt: ... never thrown into a gaseous state because of the total loss, and the difficulty of preserving the temperature so high; but in vegetation it is more difficult to preserve the temperature necessary to produce fungus, than to throw it off in the gaseous state; because all vegetables are more volatile in their principles than metals, holding so much water; but the difference of these points will not affect the validity of my hypothesis, because the same laws govern both cases as to metals and Timber. The natural state of the atmosphere preserves the metal and Timber in a solid form, while a certain degree of internal heat or caloric changes the solid state of both to a state of softness or fusion, and a much higher degree of heat will produce a change of both into a gaseous state; therefore it is clear, that these different states of existence in vegetation can only be effected by the same laws that work the change of the different states of existence in metals, because no other law can effect a change in either of them; then if it is an axiom in one case, why (as Sir Isaac Newton said) is it not to be an axiom in the other? In fact it must be so, because if Timber becomes heated by internal fermentation, its particles are disturbed, and its solid state is reduced either to fungus, or is lost in gas or vapour. It is just the same with metals in the furnace, the heat created by the blast, and the heat created by fermentation, act precisely with the same effect on the particles of each body, only the particles of Timber require a less degree of heat than metals, but the state of their existence are both changed by an adequate degree of heat necessary to overcome the power of attraction in each. Metals in this second state of existence, are rather improved than ...
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