Laws of thermodynamics
From RationalWiki
The laws of thermodynamics are a set of laws governing energy, entropy, heat, and work. They pertain to all branches of science that are influenced by thermodynamics, especially physics and chemistry.
There are four laws of thermodynamics.
- Zeroth law of thermodynamics: "When two systems are in thermal equilibrium with a reservoir, they are in thermal equilibrium with each other."
- First law of thermodynamics: "The total energy of the universe is constant."
- Second law of thermodynamics: "The entropy of an isolated system does not decrease."
- Third law of thermodynamics: "As the temperature of the universe approaches zero, its entropy approaches a constant."
The second law is particularly of interest to the continuing arguments over creationism and evolution, since many young earth creationists attempt to use it in anti-evolution arguments.
[edit] Smart-ass versions
There are several ways to express these laws, some of which veer into the snarky domain. One such version uses a gambling analogy:
- First Law: You can't win.
- Second Law: You can't break even.
- Third Law: You can't get out of the game.
