The First Law of Thermodynamics

If I grew cold on one fine winter's day,
"How to warm up?" to myself I would say,
Well work and heat have the same net effect,
And thus in two ways my goal could be met.|
I'll cut down a tree, and burn it to bits!
But if all did that, our world would be shit!
Oil or coal, the result is the same,
Pollution and ruin; humans to blame.
Instead, I could do some work on myself.
Climb up Niagra, and perched on the shelf
Get into a barrel, and tumble down
And as long as I manage not to drown
How would I be upon reaching the base?
Point three degrees warmer; first law is ace!

Schildgen, Taylor Frances,2002

A Sonnet on the First Law of Thermodynamics

Who was itching to find something new.
Relating work and heat were part of his plan
and earning some fame would be alright too.
The Royal Academy wasn?t easy to please,
so he set off to a mountainous peak.
But, with results in foot-pounds and Fahrenheit degrees,
initial academic approval was weak.
Jim Joule was never one to let go
And with great zeal he began to re-do
Lots of experiments until he could show
dW plus dq is dU.
It was a younger Lord Kelvin who saw the genius in Joule,
And showed the whole world that he was no fool.

Robin Davis and Jenny Lichter

The First Law of Thermodynamics

This gummy bear is full of energy!
I ponder this as I begin to chew:
If I define a system made of two-
that is to say, the gummy bear and me-
An isolated system, then I see
The following assertment to be true:
However I may search or what I do,
The heat and mass in us is all there'll be.
And ah! Sweet gummy bear, you're good to eat!
But oh! you have too many calories.
Though those are just another form of heat
I can't consume as many as I please,
For energy not used for body heat
Becomes the folds of fat upon my knees.

Brie Frame, 2002

Love of the First Law

If love were true internal energy,
The sun and all the stars would cease to shine.
No finite work nor heat could one supply
To make the love you hold and breath so fine.
Your heat's so great it's hard for you to tell
The parity of work it can create.
To move a mountain from heaven to hell
Is pocket change in your reserve so great.

The sum dU is contant all the time.
So as love grows the universe would cool.
A tragic note on which to end this rhyme?
But love?s not work, nor heat. Not in the rule.
So thankful am I that this is not true.
The first law holds and I can be with you.

Louis Waldman and Assaf Biderman, 2002

a few things are absolute in this world
these we call laws and they often aren't long
many laws are wrong and then must be hurled
but some will hold because they are too strong
thermodynamics has twice such a law
first comes the one called the first law and then
the other is called thermo's second law
these are said to be fact by true great men
the first is just as simple as can be
it is often said in a way that's neat
systems have some internal energy
and it cannot change without adding heat

in other words energy is conserved
unless there is some sort of heat transferred

George Waksman 2002

To U We Write

Since Einstein did claim your truth would stay true
Forever, men have sought discoveries
Of your wisdom. Radium led some to
Negate your truths. But after centuries
Your voice still shines through. In fact most courses
In thermodynamics are devoted
To you. Joule found this to be true: forces
Do create work that is equal, noted
The young teen, to heat. Though the universe
May expand or collapse, conservation
Of U will never falter. If adverse
To this are you, imagine this notion:
Of a world where heat is lost. But don't fear
Work and heat do make U throughout the year!

Lizzie Hager and Ed Barnard, 2002

El Cuento del Labor Hecho por un Hombre Dedicado

To Work