Conservation and Innovation : Helmholtz's Struggle with Energy ...

This discussion was to outline a third, more mathematical, formulation of the
principle of conservation of energy, after the correlation of forces (conversion
with constant coefficients) and conservation of "force" (variation of vis viva
equals the sum of tension forces).
The problem of appreciating the specific characteristics of Helmholtz's innovative
theoretical approach was a serious one: Helmholtz claimed recognition among the
physicists, both experimental and mathematical. But to receive it he had to fight a
hard battle. Only J.J. Jacobi, the mathematician, encouraged him, recognising the
links between the Erhaltung and the works of the "great mathematicians of the
preceding century", and despite the contrary opinion of Lejeune-Dirichlet and
Eisenstein 242. On top of Magnus' and Poggendorff's criticisms, Karsten in 1850 in
the Fortschritt der Physik im Jahre 1847 inserted the report on the Erhaltung
in the physiological section, and only later, in 1855, commenting on the 1850-51
debate on the "Theorie der Wärme", Helmholtz managed to give news of his
paper in the physical section 243 of that journal.
In this context Clausius' criticisms were received with great preoccupation 244,
given that Clausius was already a well- known mathematical physicist, and
answered in detail.
Rudolf Clausius and Hermann Helmholtz knew each other rather well: together
with Wiedemann they regularly took their meals together in the winter of 1847 245
and since 1848 had been in the habit for a long time of meeting almost daily 246.
Clausius was in fact a participant in Magnus' colloquium from the beginning. In
1850 he published a famous paper on the mechanical theory of heat, in which he
defined the two fundamental principles of thermodynamics. He derived a value
242 Helmholtz 1882 final appendix to the Erhaltung : WA 1 p.71; Koenigsberger H v
H p. 43; for a modern denial of the physico-mathematical relevance of theErhaltung see:
Truesdell, Clifford. The Tragicomic History of Thermodynamics. 1822-1854. New York:
Springer,1980. Pp.161.
243 See also: Heimann "Helmholtz and Kant" p.233 n.104. Helmholtz in 1855 started
publishing a series of six "Berichts" in the Fortschritte der Physik (1855-9) that can now be
seen as the first history of energy conservation.
244 Koenigsberger stresses Helmholtz's preoccupation, so great to make him feel
"betrayed" by a former friend. Koenigsberger H v H p. Actually Clausius' initial criticisms
were very light and mixed with praise.
245 Jungnickel,C. and McCormmach, R. Intellectual Mastery : vol.1, p.256.
246 Koenigsberger H v H p.115.