The Second Law of Thermodynamics

Everything is like a battery that slowly runs out. You eat food to get a "spark," but you can't keep that spark forever; it turns into heat and floats away. We are all temporary little fires keeping the cold at bay.

You are a brief, beautiful "glow" in the dark. Your life is the act of using energy before it fades back into the universe.

Entropy dictates the arrow of time. In biological systems, "negentropy" is the temporary localized reversal of disorder. While the universe trends toward maximum equilibrium (heat death), life creates islands of order by dissipating energy. This connects physics to teleology — the purpose of life is to delay the inevitable decay through metabolic efficiency.

SOUND: Listen to a fire crackle; that popping is energy escaping into the air.

SMELL: The scent of a cooling pie; heat carrying the smell away until it's gone.

TASTE: A hot cocoa cooling down; the loss of warmth is energy leaving the liquid.

TOUCH: Rub your hands together; feel the friction turn your effort into heat.

SIGHT: Watch a candle melt; the solid wax is becoming light and heat.

BODY: Feel your own body heat; you are a warm engine in a cool room.

Music: Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) by Train

Music: 93 Million Miles by Jason Mraz

Music: Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long Long Time) by Elton John

Music: The Circle of Life by Elton John

Music: Dust in the Wind by Kansas

Part of Ecology & Systems — SCIENCE — Education Revelation