In his Réflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu, a modest volume published in 1824, Sadi Carnot laid some of the most important foundations of modern thermodynamics and power technology. In certain respects, the book was not an easy read, and it had faults. The result was a masterpiece, though arguably a flawed one, and it remained almost unread until it was discovered and reconfigured by William Thomson (the future Lord Kelvin) and Rudolf Clausius from the late 1840s. Given the importance that physical scientists and engineers now attach to such fundamental ideas as the Carnot cycle, the second principle of thermodynamics, and the notion of entropy – all of which have roots in Carnot’s thinking – why was the Réflexions neglected for so long? The contributions to this workshop explore the origins, content, and long-term impact of Carnot’s ideas, including the legacy of debates about energy sources and implications for climate change that continue to engage us today.

Pascal Marty (Maison française d’Oxford). Introduction and welcome

First session. Chair: Maxine Berg (University of Warwick)
Raffaele Pisano (University of Lille): ‘Reading Lazare & Sadi Carnot’s manuscripts: a foundational programme for mechanical and heat machines’
Robert Fox (University of Oxford): ‘The technological environment of Sadi Carnot’
Crosbie Smith (University of Kent): ‘Interpretations of the Réflexions by William Thomson and Rudolf Clausius’

Second session. Chair: Erica Charters (University of Oxford)
Ben Marsden (University of Aberdeen): ‘Reflections on perpetual motion, alternatives to steam power, and energy physics’
Iwan Morus (Aberystwyth University): ‘“That vast granary of force”: how to power an imperial future’
Jean-Baptiste Fressoz (Ecole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales-Centre de Recherches Historiques): ‘No transition: a new history of energy’
Rob Iliffe (University of Oxford) Concluding remarks