This paper traces an important chapter in the evolution of the temperature concept in classical thermodynamics. The centerpiece in the story is the temperature function discovered by Carnot, and gradually developed over a period of 30 yr by Clapeyron, Holtzmann, Helmholtz, Joule, Rankine, Thomson (Kelvin), and Clausius. In Thomson’s final resolution of the problem, Carnot’s function simply determined the thermodynamic temperature scale.

Topics
Classical thermodynamics, Thermal instruments
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© 1987 American Association of Physics Teachers.
1987
American Association of Physics Teachers
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