The indiscriminate translation of the words “feu,” “chaleur,” and “calorique,” uniformly as heat (or wärme) in the accepted translations of Carnot's memoir, without recognizing differences in meaning which Carnot consistently implied, has led to erroneous misinterpretations of his thesis, which are prevalent in present day texts.
Carnot had at least an intuitive conception of the modern interpretation of entropy in his consistent use of “chute de calorique” as analogous to “chute d'eau.” He never speaks of “chute de chaleur.”
One needs only to identify “calorique” as entropy and “chaleur” as heat to achieve simplicity and lucidity in understanding his memoir and at the same time imparting accordance with modern theory for pertinent passages that have been misconstrued.
