One of the great problems in
the world today is undoubtedly this problem of not being able to
talke to scientists, because we don't understand science. They can't
talk to us because they don't understand anything else, poor
dears. This problem, I think it was C.P. Snow first raised it - Sir
Charles Snow in private life - in his books Science and Government
and so on. Mind you, I haven't read it. I'm waiting for the play to
come.
He says, quite rightly, he says it's no good going up to a
scientist and saying to him as you would to anybody else, you know,
"good morning, how are you, lend me a quid" and so on, I mean he'll
just glare at you or make a rude retort or something. No, you have
to speak to him in language that he'll understand. I mean you go up
to him and say something like, "Ah, H2SO4 Professor! Don't
synthesize anything I wouldn't synthesize. Oh, and the reciprocal of
pi to your good wife." Now, this he will understand.
Snow says
that nobody can consider themselves educated who doesn't know at
least the basic language of science. I mean things like Sir Edward
Boyle's Law, for example - the greater the external pressure, the
greater the volume of hot air. The simple . . . or . . . the Second
Law of Thermodynamics, this is very important. I wasn't so much
shocked the other day to discover that my partner not only doesn't
know the Second Law, he doesn't even know the First Law of
Thermodynamics!
Going back to first principles, very briefly:
thermodynamics, of course, is derived from two Greek words, thermos,
meaning hot - if you don't drop it - and dynamics, meaning dynamic,
work; and thermodynamics is simply the science of heat and work, and
the relationships between the two as laid down in the Laws of
Thermodynamics, which may be expressed in the following simple terms
- after me, Donald.
Note: Michael alone is in
blue, Donald alone is in red, speech is
italicised.
After me,
Donald.
The First law of Thermodynamics.
Heat is work and
work is heat
Heat is work and work is
heat
Very Good.
The Second law of thermodynamics.
Heat cannot of itself pass from one body to a hotter
body
Heat cannot of itself pass from one body
to a hotter body
Heat won't pass from a
cooler to a hotter
Heat won't pass from a
cooler to a hotter
You can try it if you like
but you'd far better not-a
You can try it if
you like but you'd far better not-a
'Cos the
cold in the cooler will get hotter as a rule-a
'Cos the cold in the cooler will get hotter as a
rule-a
'Cos the hotter body's heat will pass
to the cooler
'Cos the hotter body's heat
will pass to the cooler
Heat is work and work
is heat and work is heat and heat is work
Heat will pass by conduction and
Heat will pass by conduction and
Heat will pass by convection and
Heat will pass by convection and
Heat will pass by radiation
Heat will pass by radiation
And
that's a physical law
Heat is work and
work's a curse
And all the heat in the universe
Is gonna cool
down,
'Cos it can't increase
Then there'll be no more
work
And there'll be perfect peace
Really?
Yeah, that's
entropy, Man.
And all because of the second law of thermodynamics
which lays down:
That you can't pass heat from a
cooler to a hotter
Try it if you like but you'd far better
not-a
'Cos the cold in the cooler will get
hotter as a rule-a
'Cos the hotter body's heat will pass to the
cooler
Oh, you can't pass heat from a cooler to a
hotter
Try it if you like but you'll only look a fool-a
'Cos
the cold in the cooler will get hotter as a rule-a
And that's a
physical law
Oh, I'm hot
That's because you've been working!
Oh, Beatles, nothing!
That's the first and second laws of
thermodynamics.
From the album 'At The Drop of Another Hat'.