Chapter 17, Problem 1P

On his honeymoon, James Joule traveled from England to Switzerland. He attempted to verify his idea of the inter-convertibility of mechanical energy and internal energy by measuring the increase in temperature of water that fell in a waterfall. For the waterfall near Chamonix in the French Alps, which has a 120-m drop, what maximum temperature rise could Joule expect? He did not succeed in measuring it, partly because evaporation cooled the falling water and also because his thermometer was not sufficiently sensitive.