In existographies, Joao Magellan (1722-1790) (CR:8) was a Portuguese physicist noted for his 1780 “Essay on a New Theoretical Law of the Fire Element, and of the Heat of Bodies”, in which the term ‘specific heat’ (an early synonym for heat capacity) first appeared along with a table of specific heats. [1] Magellan attributed the data of his specific heat table to Richard Kirwan, who was working on this topic in London, beginning in 1777. [2] In a series of letters concerned principally with his forthcoming publication, written to James Watt at the beginning of 1780, Magellan attacked Joseph Black for his failure to publish his own work on heat. [2]
Name translations
His Portuguese name is João Hyacintho de Magalhaens (or João Jacinto de Magalhães); his first name is sometimes translated as Jean or John; his full name is commonly cited as Jean Hyacinthe de Magellan (or John Hyacinth de Magellan), but more often than not abbreviated as J.H. de Magellan.
Quotes | On
The following are quotes on Magellan:
“In a rather tentative fashion, knowledge of the work of Watt and of Black was spread abroad by authors such as J.A. du Luc and Joao Magellan, and the anonymous author of the 1770 volume.”
— Donald Cardwell (1971), From Watt to Clausius (pg. 55) [3]
References
1. Magellan, John. (1780). “Essay on a New Theoretical Law of the Fire Element, and of the Heat of Bodies” (“Essai sur law Nouvelle Theorie du Feu Elementaire, et de la Chaleur des Corps”). London.
2. Scott, E.L. (1981). “Richard Kirwan, J. H. de Magellan, and the Early History of Specific Heat” (abs). Annals of Science, 38(2): 141-53.
3. (a) Cardwell, Donald S.L. (1971). From Watt to Clausius: the Rise of Thermodynamics in the Early Industrial Age. Cornell University Press.
(b) Du Luc, J.A. (1786). Idee sur la Meteorologie, Volumes One to Three. London.
(c) Magellan, John. (1780). “Essay on a New Theoretical Law of the Fire Element, and of the Heat of Bodies” (“Essai sur law Nouvelle Theorie du Feu Elementaire, et de la Chaleur des Corps”). London.
Further reading
● Oliver, Samuel. (1900). “Jean Hyacinthe de Magellan”, Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 35. Publisher.
● Fenby, David V. (1987). “Heat: Its measurement from Galileo to Lavoisier.” Pure & Appl. Chem., 59: 91-100.
● Salje, Ekhard K.H. (1988). Physical Properties and Thermodynamics Behavior of Minerals (pg. 433). Springer.
● Fernandes-Thomaz, Manuel. (2009). “John Hyacinth de Magellan (1722-90): 18th Century Physicist with Views on Medical Matters” (abs), J. Med. Biogr, 17:39-46.
● Fernandes-Thomaz, Manuel. (2009). “The Private Life and Character of Physicist John Hyacinth de Magellan (1722-1790)”, Revista Brasileira de História da Ciência, Rio de Janeiro, v. 2, n. 2, p. 182-191, jul|dez.
External links
● Jean Hyacinthe de Magellan – Wikipedia.
