On the Relation of Heat and Congelation of Bodies

Summary

Mikhail Lomonosov's "On the Relation of Heat and Congelation of Bodies" (1750) argues that heat is not a substance but a form of motion within bodies, and that congelation (freezing) is a transition from a fluid to a solid state caused by this motion's reduction. He posits that all bodies are composed of corpuscles that move independently in fluids and vibrate in solids. Congelation occurs when these corpuscles cease their free movement and become fixed in a structure, a process influenced by external temperature.

The work presents a mechanistic view of physical phenomena, proposing that changes in state, like freezing, are direct consequences of internal corpuscular motion and external thermal influence. Lomonosov sought to unify understanding of heat, temperature, and phase transitions under a single, consistent physical model, laying groundwork for later kinetic theories. Readers gain insight into early atomic and molecular concepts applied to thermodynamics and the foundational principles of matter's physical transformations.

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Key concepts

• Corpuscles — Minute, indivisible particles that constitute all matter.
• Heat as Motion — The theory that heat is not a fluid but the internal movement of corpuscles.
• Congelation — The process by which a fluid transitions to a solid state due to decreased corpuscular motion.
• Kinetic Theory of Matter — An early conceptualization that the physical properties of matter are related to the motion of its constituent particles.