The force of caloric is mobile, and is capable of moving from one
portion of matter to another; yet under certain conditions a portion
of caloric is occluded in the matter by the force of attraction. That
portion of caloric which is occluded (known by the misnomer, latent
heat) I shall call _static caloric_, and that portion which is in
motion, _dynamic caloric_.
The force of attraction, as I have said, tends to draw the particles
of matter together and hold them in a state of rest; but as this force
is inherent, the degree of power thus exerted is in an inverse ratio
to the distance of the particles from each other. The effective force
so exerted is always balanced by an equivalent amount of the force of
caloric, and that modicum of caloric so engaged in balancing the
effective force of attraction is static, because occluded in that
work.
In solid or fluid bodies, where the molecules are held in a local or
near relation to each other, the amount of static caloric will be in
direct proportion to the effective force of attraction, but in gaseous
bodies the static caloric is in an inverse ratio to the effective
force of attraction; hence the amount of static caloric present in
solid and fluid bodies will be greatest when the molecules are nearest
each other, and greatest in gaseous bodies when the molecules are
furthest apart.
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