Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 72, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 April 1917 — FEW COLD FACTS ABOUT HEAT [ARTICLE]

FEW COLD FACTS ABOUT HEAT

Temperature, Which .Is Merely Matter of Vibration of Molecules, Mysterious Force of Nature. Heat is so common that most of ue never give it a thoaght except to complain of it In summer and coax it in winter. And yet heat Is one of the most difficult things In nature to understand. It Is as mystorlous as electricity, says the PKllAdelphla Inquirer. Heat Is not a substance. It is merely the vibration of the molecules composing the material heated. Every material Is made up of molecules, and each molecule Is composed of atomsMolecules of matter are held together by a force called "cohesion.” At absolute* zero, colder yet than liquid air, or minus 270 degrees, all molecules are at rest. As the temperature rises the molecules begin to move to and fro. The higher the temperature Is raised the further and faster swing the molecules. Heat is produced hv combustion of fire, by friction, such as rubbing a coin on the sleeve; by electricity in the electric furnace, by chemical action and otherwise. No matter how heat Is produced Us effect Is always the same.

The molecules of a bar of Iron are ut rest at 459 degrees below zero. As the temperature rises they begin to oscillate. As more and more heat Is applied they swing further and further apart, until finally they begin to roll one over another. Then the Iron Is melted aud runs like water. If still more heat be applied the irbn will be diffused into gases and dissipated In the air. Apply heat to water and it forms a gas called- steam and is easily dissipated In the air. Lower the temperature to 32 degreed and the molecules slow up and pack close together, forming ice. Heat Is closely related to light. Both travel through the ether in a wave motion. All light rays carry some heat. This explains how the sun supplies us with both heat and light. Molecules are so minute that there are about one sextilllon of them In a cubic inch of aih These at freezing temperature oscillate back Wild' forth at the rate of 1,470 a feet a second. The average length of their path between oscillations Is about one two-hundred and seventy-seven thousandth of an inch. Each comes Into collision with Its fellows about 5,000,000 times a second.