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Flanders & Swann - 'First And Second Law'

Flanders & Swann - 'First And Second Law' on HackerTube: recommended by 2 Hacker News commenters across 2 separate months, 2020–2024.

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Flanders and Swann perform 'First and Second Law', a comic song about the laws of thermodynamics, from their 1964 stage show At the Drop of Another Hat. It sets the first and second laws to a deadpan call-and-response routine.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN brings it up whenever thermodynamics or entropy comes up, as the classic comic explanation of the laws.

people recommended it
2
separate months
2
strong recommendations
0
discussed on HN
2020–2024
“The classic Flanders and Swann explanation”
— robaato, Jul 2024, in “The Second Law of Thermodynamics (2011)”

What HN commenters said

4 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.

robaatoJul 2024Recommends

The classic Flanders and Swann explanation: ▶ this video Excerpts: No one can consider themsleves educated who doesn't understand the basic language of science - Boyle's law: the greater the external pressure the greater the volume of hot air. I was someone shocked to learn my partner not only doesn't understand the 2nd law of thermodynamics, he doesn't even understand the first! : Heat won't pass from the cooler to hotter! You can try it if you like but you'd far better notta! M: Heat is work and work's a curse M: And all the heat in the universe M: Is gonna cool down, M: 'Cos it can't increase M: Then there'll be no more work M: And there'll be perfect peace D: Really? M: Yeah, that's entropy, Man.

in “The Second Law of Thermodynamics (2011)” · View on HN

skaMay 2024Recommends

> While they don't have the science/maths background that makes Lehrer an obvious win for the HN crowd, True, but they did one on thermodynamics ▶ this video

in “Why did Tom Lehrer swap fame for obscurity?” · View on HN

chrisatthestudyMay 2023Joke

"Heat cannot of itself pass from one body to a hotter body." Thank you, Flanders and Swann! ▶ this video

in “The Two Cultures” · View on HN

ajbAug 2020Joke

The claim is that the walls can be hotter than the room around it. By the second law of thermodynamics, heat doesn't naturally move from a cooler object to a hotter object, or as Flanders and Swann would put it, "heat don't move from a cooler to a hotter" ( ▶ this video ) [1]

in “Lab mice have a chill, and that may be messing up study results (2016)” · View on HN

Topics & tags

Music performance & songsFundamental physicsStand-up & sketch comedyflanders and swannthermodynamicscomic songsecond lawbritish humor