There was not much response to the issue of caloric thus far. Let
me be more direct:
For members of this list what is the difference in your
views/ideas/images between "heat" and "caloric"?
I get the impression that generally it is thought that they both are
fluids -- or fluid-like -- of course if we thought about it a bit, we
would have to say that the total amount of caloric is conserved
universally and we usually don't think of heat as being conserved --
except that some of us think of heat as energy and then it would have
to be conserved.
As far as I can see there is not much difference between Empedocles'
"fire" (of air, earth, water, and fire days) and today's "heat"
We are quick to say that we _have_ changed, but it looks to me as
if all we have changed are the words -- from fire to phlogiston to
caloric to heat -- but not the thinking,