Wayne L. Smith'
Colby College Woterville, Moine 04901
Thermodynamics, Folk Culture, and Poetry
The principles of thermodynamics are pervasive and may be applied to many aspects of our everyday life. Some recent and random examples include application of thermodynamics to pollution (I), starting a car on a cold morning (2). cloud caps on high mountains (3), chemical first-aid packs (4), art (5), chinook winds (6), life processes (7), scuba diving (S), and faculty meetings (9). Although it is easy for us as chemists to see applications of thermodynamic principles to many seemingly unrelated areas, we often ignore the fact that these same principles are embodied in much of our folklore. The origins of thermodynamics are intertwined with human experience and attempts to make perpetual motion machines. Percy Bridgman, the eminent physicist and thermodynamicist, commented that the laws of thermodynamics are more palpably verbal and smell more of their human origins than do most otherlaws of vhvsics . . (10). Scienre may he viewed as organized common sense, and this is particularly well demonsrrnted with thermodynamics. We should note that most of our folklore. as characterized by adages and nursery rhymes, is also based in common sense. In addition, poets and songwriters over the ages have often implicitly or explicitly recognized the same common sense principles. (Defining common sense is difficult, but everyone agrees that it is not very common. The favorite definition of students is attributed to Einstein who referred t o common sense as a collection of prejudices laid down by inadequate teaching.) There is a delightful hook by Angrist and Hepler (11) entitled "Order and Chaos," which is a light-headed, non-mathematical approach to thermodynamics. In retrospect, this book probably provided the original impetus for relating thermodynamics to folklore. Over the past several years many students have helped the author find the concepts of thermodynamics in poems, adages, nursery folk sonns, and vovular songs. It proves to he . rhymes, . a rather pleasant way for hoih chemistr). majors and nonmaion to reinforce their learning of the h a m principles. The First Law
The first law of thermodynamics is generally expressed in terms of conservation of energy for cyclic processes, and the vrinciples of conservation and cyclic processes can be found in many aspects of our folklore. All of the following adages express the idea of conservation: "You can't get something for nothing"; "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs"; "You can't get blood from a stone": or "You can't have vour cake and eat it too.': Another example is Benjamin ~ranklin'sdictum: "There are no gains without pains." There is even a hiblical mention of cyclic processes: ". . . you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (12) Folk songs and popular songs that express principles of conservation and cyclic processes include "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell; "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" by Pete Seeger; "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat and Tears, (which starts with the phrase: "What goes up, must come down"); and "If You're Gonna Dance to the 'Address for 1974-75 academic year: Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104.
Music, Don't Cha Know, You Gotta Pay I t to the Piper" by the Chairman of the Board. "The Impossible Dream" from Man of LaMancha can he interpreted in terms of man's quest for perpetual motion machines. Or perhaps we might designate any attempt to obtain a perpetual motion machine as "Mission Impossible." The Second Law
The second law expresses the concepts of the unidirectionalitv of manv events. the trend toward increasinn disorder o; entropy, and eventual attainment of the e q d i h rium state. All of these ideas are expressed in many facets of our everyday life. As children we learn the nursery rhymes of "Humpty Dum~tv." . ". "Little Bov Blue." and "Little Bo-Peev." .. all of which express the concept of time and entropy increasing. "Jack and Jill" and "London Bridee" sueeest that thines will tend toward a minimum energy (the state of equilihrium). Many of the proverbs that we learn as we grow older embody these same concepts. Consider the following: "There is no use crying over spilt milk"; "burning your bridges behind you," "water doesn't run uphill"; "water seeks its own level"; "all things must pass"; or "things are getting all screwed up." The idea of increasing disorder is nicely summarized in the acronym SNAFU (situation normal, all fouled up) from World War II. "We shall overcome," the battle cry of the civil rights movement of the sixties, expressed the desire for a more disordered state and, hopefully, an equilibrium one. Many songs express the ideas of increasing disorder or the irreversibility of natural processes. Examples are "All Mixed Up" by Pete Seeger; "I Want to Take You Higher" by Sly and the Family Stone; "More and More" by Blood, Sweat, and Tears; "Brokedown Palace" by the Grateful Dead; "Gimme Shelter, I'm Gonna Fade Away" or "Time is on Our Side" by the Rolling Stones; or "We May Never Pass This Wav Anain" bv Seals and Croft. Perhavs the best statement of 'the second law in a song is in ~ o Dyb Ian's "The Times They are A-Changin'," which contains a line about the old order rapidly fading. There are many poetic statements of the second law of thermodvnamics. In Ovid's "Metamorohoses" are the lines
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There's nothing constant in the universe, All ebb and flow, and every shape that's born. Bean in its womb the seed of change. Maxwell's demon is introduced along with the concept of probability and entropy in "Paradise'Lost" by John Milton
.. .Chaos umpire sits And by decision more embroils the fray By which he reigns: next him high arbiter Chance governs all. One can also find Maxwell's demon and the idea of increasing disorder in these lines from "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost Volume 52, Number 2, February 1975 / 97
Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down. I would say "Elves" to him, Admittedly it appears that here the elves are tearing down the wall, which would seem a little out of character for Maxwell's Demon. Perham one of the most d e a s a n t statements of increasing entropy and the unidirec;innilliry of events is in Robert Frost's "Yothing Gold C ' i m Stay" Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest here to hold. Her early leafs a flower; But only so an hour. So leaf goes down to leaf. As Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. In the "Hollow Men," T. S. Eliot expresses the idea of gradually increasing entropy and the eventual "heat death" of the universe This is the way the world ends Not with a hang But a whimper. In his poem "Under," Carl Sandherg expresses much the same ideas in the last line I am the crumbier: tomorrow
Other literary statements of the second law include the lines of Touchstone in "As you Like It" by Shakespeare And so from hour to hour we rim and rioe
The tale is clearly entropy. In "Essay on Man" by Alexander Pope, one finds Man is governed by two forces "self-love" and "reason." Self-love drives man, reason restrains him. These lines may he interpreted as representing the balance between entropy and enthalpy and the drive toward equilihrium. The Third Law
The third law can he stated in terms of the impossibility of attaining absolute zero or in terms of minimal disorder a t equilibrium a t absolute zero. Many aphorisms comment on the unattainahility of things. The prime example is the old country saying: "You just can't get there from here." With a slight stretching of the imagination the idea of minimal disorder a t absolute zero can he seen in the political statement that absolute power corrupts absolutely. The idea of minimal disorder is also contained in the Pete Seeger song "Little Boxes," which was written by Malvina Reynolds. "The Impossible Dream" from Man of LaMancha or the Rolling Stones "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" can easily he interpreted in terms of the unattainability of absolute zero. This idea is expressed even better in "Let It Bleed" by the Rolling Stones
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You can't always get what you want, But ifyou try real hard, you get what you need The first line cited clearly refers to O"K, while the second line means 1 X 10-6"K. There are many songs and stories of unrequited love expressing the sentiments of unattainahility; they are perhaps best exemplified by Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Comments
The interpretation of adages, songs, and poems in terms of thermodynamics may he a departure from usual chemical teaching methods, hut it is certainly enjoyable. As indicated by student comments, it is also very memorable. A few minutes taken away from Carnot cycles, fugacities, and partition functions would not hurt anyone and can even make thermodynamics fun. For nonmajors the time spent (approximately one-half of a lecture) on this less serious side of chemistly is certainly well spent. Even less time is required for majors. Because they have a better understanding of the fundamentals involved, the ideas are more obvious to them. A few comments in the hall are often sufficient. Students certainly enjoy this approach, and it does help to alleviate some of the difficulty with the unfamiliar words and confusinr notations in thermodvnamics. Manv have commented thAt they feel the songs are the highlighi d of the course (13). It is o e r h a ~ smost a ~ ~ r e c i a t ebecause it is least expected; it is an'attempt to talk "their language." It also provides one of those rare opportunities when a student can easily discuss in a social conversation something he has learned in a chemistry class. Many students have commented how they have used thermodynamic interpretations in literature courses, generally getting good grades and perhaps even enlightening their profesors. One thought on the interpretation of poems in terms of thermodynamics seems in order: "Poets . . . say many fine things, but they understand nothing that they say." Students generally suspect that this statement must come from some arrogant scientist. In fact, it is attributed to Socrates in Plato's "Apology to Socrates." Probably the most suitable way to close is to return to the idea that science is organized common sense and use a quote from "Table Talk" by S. T . Coleridge: "No mind is thoroughly well organized that is deficient in a sense of humor." Literature Cited
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(51 Amheim. R.. "Enfmpy and Art." University or California Press. Herkeley, Csiil..
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Stevenr0n.P.E.. J.CHEM.EDUC.. 48. 154 !19711.
D.~ . . ~ ~ d.ir.,c. c ~E..~J. C~ H E ~ MhEDUC.. ~ ~ 49.112119721 . Cmke. E.D.,andBaranowrki. C.. J. CHEM. ED11C..5O,426!1973i. Smith.. W.L.. submitted inr ,~uhlieationin1 CHRM F."llC. Rridgman.P. W.,Amrr. Slirntlsl. 41.549!1953); alsocited i n R e f i l i ) . p.215. Anerirt. S. W.. and Heoler. I.. C.. "Order and Chaw." Basic Rooks. Inc.. New ~ m k 1967. , (12) Gon.3:ISe (13) Chemistry 112, Topics in Chamistry, nercnhed at tho 164th National Mcerins nl the American Chemical SocleLy. Chicago, Illinois. August 27, 1973. (7)
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