Stanislaw Lem recognizes the far-reaching role of chance both in gaining knowledge and in explaining the development of cultural norms. The consequences are explored by him in fiction and non-fiction.

The objective of the study reported in this paper was to determine the effect of structure on thermal power of cast-iron heat exchangers which in this case were furnace chambers constituting the main component of household fireplace-based heating systems and known commonly as fireplace inserts. For the purpose of relevant tests, plate-shaped castings were prepared of gray iron with flake graphite in pearlitic matrix (the material used to date typically for fireplace inserts) as well as similar castings of gray cast iron with vermicular graphite in pearlitic, ferritic-pearlitic, and ferritic matrix. For all the cast iron variants of different structures (graphite precipitate shapes and matrix type), calorimetric measurements were carried out consisting in determining the heat power which is quantity representing the rate of heat transfer to the ambient environment. It has been found that the value of the observed heat power was affected by both the shape of graphite precipitates and the type of alloy matrix. Higher thermal power values characterize plate castings of gray iron with vermicular graphite compared to plates cast of the flake graphite gray iron. In case of plates made of gray cast iron with vermicular graphite, the highest values of thermal power were observed for castings made of iron with ferritic matrix.