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[T]he production of heat alone is not sufficient to give birth to the impelling power: it is necessary that there should also be cold; without it, the heat would be useless.

— Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat (1824)

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More quotes by Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot

Heat can evidently be a cause of motion only by virtue of the changes of volume or of form which it produces in bodies.

Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat (1824)

The driving power of heat is independent of the agents used to realize it; its value is uniquely fixed by the temperatures of the bodies between which the transfer of caloric is made.

Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat and on Machines Fitted to Develop Power (1824)

God cannot punish man for not believing when he could so easily have enlightened and convinced him.

Posthumous Manuscripts (1878)

A religion suited to the soul and preached by men worthy of respect would exercise the most salutary influence upon society and customs.

Posthumous Manuscripts (1878)

The truly wise man is he who loves virtue for its own sake.

Posthumous Manuscripts (1878)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.