Introduction

The most essential elements will survive all possible upheavals in our perspectives; indeed, they may possibly one day be regarded as established facts. This is already the case today with the hypothesis that the stars are giant bodies millions of miles away. Logically, this too is only to be understood as a mechanical analogy to make sense of the effects of the sun and the sparse visual perceptions produced by other celestial bodies. One could reproach this view for constructing an entire world of imaginary things alongside the world of our sensory perceptions, yet hardly anyone assumes it could ever be displaced by another theory.

I hope to be able to provide proof in the following pages that the mechanical analogy between the facts underlying the so-called Second Law of ThermodynamicsThe Second Law of Thermodynamics deals with the direction of heat transfer and the inevitable increase of entropy (disorder) in a system. and the laws of probability in the movements of gas molecules goes far beyond a mere external resemblance.

The question of the usefulness of atomistic views is, of course, completely unaffected by the fact emphasized by Kirchhoff Gustav Kirchhoff (1824–1887), a physicist who argued that science should aim for the simplest description of natural phenomena rather than seeking "ultimate truths." that our theories relate to nature as signs relate to the thing signified—much like letters to sounds or musical notes to tones. It is also unaffected by the question of whether it is practical to designate theories as mere "descriptions" to constantly remind ourselves of this relationship to nature. The point at issue is simply whether mere differential equations or atomistic views will one day prove to be the more complete descriptions of phenomena.

Once one admits that explaining the appearance of a continuum A "continuum" refers to matter that appears perfectly smooth and unbroken, like water in a glass, as opposed to being made of individual particles. through the presence of an extraordinary number of discontinuous molecules arranged side-by-side aids our intuition, and if one imagines these molecules to be subject to the laws of mechanics, then one is forced to the further assumption that heat is a continuous motion of molecules. For these molecules must, in fact, be held in their relative positions by forces, the origin of which one may imagine however one wishes. However, all forces...