Joule experiment [`jül ik´sper·ǝ·mǝnt] THERMODYNAMICS 1. An experiment to detect intermolecular forces in a gas, in which one measures the heat absorbed when gas in a small vessel is allowed to expand into a second vessel which has been evacuated. 2. An experiment to measure the mechanical equivalent of heat, in which falling weights cause paddles to rotate in a closed container of water whose temperature rise is measured by a thermometer. |