Thermodynamics, or thermodynamics, was a term that was not something difficult for Joule to accept in 1848.

In fact, even without the horse whistle, the term would gradually replace the "hot theory" as a more formal name for the discipline in three years' time.

Around the first law of thermodynamics, the two had a lot of discussions.

None of the others in the room could interject.

Whether it's Dr. Mayo, or Joule's wife, or the messy hair...... What Ma Whistle and Joule discussed was almost heaven for them.

"Potential energy?" Joule blinked.

He heard a new term from the horse's whistle.

Ma Whistle explained: "The so-called potential energy is the energy stored in a system. ”

As he spoke, he picked up the wine glass beside him, and there was still half a glass of wine in it: "For example, this wine glass in my hand, although it is stationary now, there is no doubt that as soon as I let go, it will immediately gain momentum." ”

"From the point of view of energy conversion, where does its kinetic energy come from? What energy is converted into its kinetic energy? ”

"Obviously, it possesses a latent energy simply because of its relative position to the Earth, and this energy, which I call potential energy."

"Potential energy, potential energy......" Joule recited several times.

Then he exclaimed, "Oh, what an ingenious idea!" I didn't think that if I could explain my experiment with the help of this concept, I guess it wouldn't be so many people suspicious. ”

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh: "You have absolutely no idea how many people at the Society for the Advancement of Science in Oxford last year doubted my experiments, including Mr. Faraday. ”

He added: "The one who believes in me the most is William Thomson, but ...... He wasn't really convinced, and I tried to convince him a lot. ”

"William Thomson?" The horse whistle was stunned.

"You've heard his name too?" Joule smiled, "But it's normal, he's young, but he's much better than me in academia, he became a professor at the University of Glasgow two years ago – he was twenty-two years old." ”

The Horse Whistle had certainly heard the name of William Thomson.

However, it wasn't until he was stunned for a while that he realized who this person was.

The reason why I was stunned for a while is mainly because the name "William Thomson" is really a bit rotten.

If it is put in China, it almost belongs to the category of Li Ming and Zhang Wei, and no matter how famous a person is, he can't support this kind of name.

And this William Thomson in Joule's mouth has another, more widely known name, which the vast majority of people have heard.

Kelvin.

It is the famous Baron Kelvin, the thermodynamic temperature scale, and the protagonist of the famous scene "Two Dark Clouds on the Edifice of Physics".

The name Kelvin derives from his title, which is similar to Zhuge Liang often being called "Marquis Wu".

Now, of course, Kelvin doesn't have that name yet.

Now, he is just a rising star in physics, not the accomplished Baron Kelvin.

The whistle is also aware of Kelvin's experience, and in fact, Kelvin is the next target in his plan.

He nodded and said, "I did hear of him, although his name was a bit too common. Although I didn't have the opportunity to enter academia in the United States, I have been very concerned about the news in academia. ”

"In my opinion, open ...... William Thomson is also a genius, just like you, Joule, an absolute genius! ”

Ma Whistle almost said "Kelvin", and quickly changed the subject, praising Joule.

Joule was a little embarrassed: "That's too exaggerated. I'm just a physics enthusiast, a busy brewery owner, and Thomson is the youngest professor at the University of Glasgow. ”

"Heroes don't ask where they come from." "I believe that history will give a fair assessment," Ma Whistle said. ”

"In the future, people will see you as an outstanding scientist, not as a brewery owner."

This sentence really reached Joule's heart, and even made him a little trance and out of his mind for a moment.

Joule has always had a strong love for science, and from a very young age, he had a seemingly insatiable curiosity.

Unfortunately, his father asked him to take over the family business, so he had to make business his main job.

If he could, he would have preferred to be a university professor and career physicist like William Thomson rather than a brewery owner.

It's not bad to be a successful brewery owner, at least to live in abundance, which is already the envy of most people.

But no brewery owner will go down in history.

Joule stared at the empty wine glass.

After a while, he spoke again: "Actually, these words may be more suitable for you, Ma Whistle, you are the real genius of 'heroes don't ask where they come from'." ”

"To be honest, it's hard for me to imagine that you, as an Indian, could have studied physics to such an extent in such an environment...... I suppose that in front of you, any scientist in Europe will have to be ashamed. ”

"I'm actually in a pretty good situation, after all, I'm the chief of a big tribe. In contrast, my people, and indeed other indigenous peoples, are in a much more difficult situation, both on the path of knowledge and otherwise. ”

"Can you tell me about your tribe?" Joule couldn't help but say, "I've never been to the United States, and I know almost nothing about the Indians." ”

"Of course." Ma Whistle nodded, "First of all, I want to correct a statement, which is what people call 'Indians'. ”

"We are Native Americans, not Indians, and that's Columbus's fault. Although the vast majority of people, including ourselves, are accustomed to this term, I hope that this mistake will be corrected. ”

"As it should be." Joule said.

Horse whistle: "Specifically, I belong to a tribe called Apache......"

He introduced Joule to his tribe.

As the saying goes, distance produces beauty, and for people who are far away in the world, good feelings are always easy to generate.

Just like 2,000 years ago, the Roman Empire and the Han Empire, separated by thousands of miles, praised each other in their own accounts, even though they didn't know each other at all.

What's more, there is also the American factor in how the British treated the Indians. The British are undoubtedly more likely to have a good impression of a group of strangers who make Americans uncomfortable.

Joule is a genius, but he is not exempt from vulgarity.

At the same time, as a rich second generation, his personality still has the characteristics of a greenhouse flower - it is easier to have a distorted imagination of distant things.

Thus, under the deliberate guidance of the horse whistle, Joule's sympathy and favorability towards the Indians soon overshadowed some prejudice.

"You put all the children in school, math and physics? That's pretty remarkable. Joule said, "I believe it won't be long before no one in the world dares to think that Native Americans are savages." ”

Ma Whistle sighed slightly: "It's just Sleeping Bear City, not even the whole Apache." The situation of the Native Americans is not much better as a result, and in fact the Native Americans are almost extinct, and our population is more than 90% smaller than it was three hundred years ago due to germs and American aggression. ”

"Germs?" Joule didn't understand.

In this era, the pathogenicity of bacteria is not well understood, although it is not ignorant, but the vast majority of people are not aware of it, except for some hypotheses from individual biologists.

Joule didn't know much about biology, so when he heard the term, he couldn't help but be confused.

Ma Whistle: "I think diseases are caused by bacteria, those tiny creatures, many of them are like poisonous insects. When Europeans came to the Americas, germs from Eurasia also arrived in the Americas, bringing disaster to us, and we suffered frequent plagues. ”

Joule pondered for a moment.

It is not difficult to understand the pathogenesis of bacteria, but as a brilliant scientist, he quickly detected a possible loophole: "But, according to this theory, germs from the Americas should also enter Europe, right?" ”

"Yes, but the bacteria exported by the two sides are not equal, and even very different." Ma Whistle said slowly.

"The three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa are connected, while the Americas are isolated."

"And there are a large number of domesticable animals in Eurasia, so Europeans carry more bacteria and have a stronger resistance to bacteria, so in this bacterial exchange, Native Americans completely fall into the ......"

Ma Whistle added: "The so-called resistance is similar to cowpox. There are many plagues that people will not get after they have them, and there is no doubt that more plagues also means greater resistance. ”

Listening to this narrative, Joule couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After a moment, he said, "I don't know much about biology, but I think what you're saying might have a lot of repercussions in the field of biology." ”

Ma Whistle: "I do plan to compile many of my thoughts into a paper for publication. I didn't have this opportunity in the U.S., but I should be able to try it when I come to the U.K. ”

Joule listened and immediately said, "At least in the field of physics, I am absolutely willing to help you, you have inspired me a lot." ”

"You're a great inspiration to me." Ma Whistle smiled, "It was your research over the past few years that triggered these reflections for me. ”

Joule hesitated: "We might try to co-write a paper, what do you think?" ”

"Absolutely, it's my pleasure." The horse whistle is telling the truth. Although he knows far more than Joule, none of it is original to him.

At the end of the day, in the field of physics, he was still a student.

For a physics student, it is certainly an honor to be able to co-write a thesis with Joule.

Putting this feeling aside, co-writing a paper with Joule is also a safer option.

Joule's current academic status can be said to be just right, neither too high to climb or too low to help.

So from the beginning, he planned to collaborate with Joule on a paper first.

"The title of the paper is "The First Law of Thermodynamics: Conservation and Transformation of Energy", what do you think?" The horse whistle asked.

"It's great." Joule said without hesitation.

Of course, he would be very happy, because this would undoubtedly be an important achievement, the beginning of a new discipline.

The conversation continued into the night, and Joule invited the Horse Whistle to stay.

The horse whistle gladly agreed.

Joule, as a wealthy brewery owner, also has plenty of rooms in the villa, which is more than enough for a few guests.

The next day, the two began to co-write a paper entitled "The First Law of Thermodynamics: Conservation and Transformation of Energy".

Ma Whistle was responsible for expounding the theory, first systematically summarizing the existing achievements of the law of conservation of energy, and then proposing new concepts such as "potential energy" to further elucidate the transformation of various energies.

Then the concept of "thermodynamics" was introduced, and the law of conservation of energy was established as the fundamental law of the discipline.

Joule is responsible for the experimental part.

He was always experimenting with the conservation of energy, improving it every once in a while, and this process continued until his old age, so he was also very proficient.