Caloric theory
Caloric theory is a way to explain how heat works. You know how when you rub your hands together really fast they get warm? Well, according to caloric theory, there is a thing called a "calorie" that is like a tiny little particle that makes things hot or cold.
It's kind of like when you have a bag of marbles and you shake it really hard. The marbles bump into each other and start moving really fast. When they move fast, they create heat.
In the same way, when you rub your hands together, the movement creates these tiny little calories that bump into each other and make heat. And when things get really hot, it's because they have a lot of calories inside of them.
Scientists used to think that caloric theory was true, but now we know that heat actually works through something called "thermal energy." It's still a little complicated, but we know that there aren't actually little calories floating around making things hot or cold.
It's kind of like when you have a bag of marbles and you shake it really hard. The marbles bump into each other and start moving really fast. When they move fast, they create heat.
In the same way, when you rub your hands together, the movement creates these tiny little calories that bump into each other and make heat. And when things get really hot, it's because they have a lot of calories inside of them.
Scientists used to think that caloric theory was true, but now we know that heat actually works through something called "thermal energy." It's still a little complicated, but we know that there aren't actually little calories floating around making things hot or cold.
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