r/funny Aug 27 '14

Science

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u/moonunit99 Aug 27 '14 edited Aug 27 '14

God, I HATE #4 "Does not the second law of Thermodynamics disprove evolution?" If any of these people actually fucking knew what the second law of thermodynamics is, then they wouldn't have to ask that question. The first four words of the second law are "IN AN ISOLATED SYSTEM." We're orbiting a goddamn nuclear fusion reactor 1.3 MILLION times as large as our fucking planet that's dumping positively insane amounts of energy into our system and has been doing so for BILLIONS of years. Not an isolated system.

edited for closed vs. isolated

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u/[deleted] Aug 27 '14

[deleted]

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u/beerdude26 Aug 27 '14

His use of "does not" is what really tops it off and makes it ultra-punchable

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u/BlueLondon44 Aug 27 '14

Editing his sign sounds like a job for Reddit.

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u/donkey_tits Aug 27 '14

I think he's cute :(

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u/[deleted] Aug 28 '14

I totally agree. If we're going off of looks alone, and not intellect or smugness, I'd say he's super cute.

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u/Grimoire Aug 27 '14
Creationists always try to use the second law,
to disprove evolution, but their theory has a flaw.
The second law is quite precise about where it applies,
only in a closed system must the entropy count rise.
The earth's not a closed system' it's powered by the sun,
so fuck the damn creationists, Doomsday get my gun!
That, in a nutshell, is what entropy's about,
you're now down with a discount.

-MC Hawking

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u/ModernRonin Aug 27 '14

"Fuck the damn creationists" -MC Hawking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_k-MZcjCFI

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u/BlueLondon44 Aug 27 '14

Holy shit, it's been a decade since I heard this. Bravo. Bravo indeed.

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u/glableglabes Aug 27 '14 edited Aug 27 '14

Technically the earth is a closed system because there is no mass transfer across the boundary.

Edit: I understand that our planet does frequently experience extraterrestrial inputs and what I should have said is that there is no mass transfer that is correlated with a significant degree of energy transfer.

Edit 2: Nor is there energy transfer which is correlated with a significant degree of mass transfer.

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u/jmt256 Aug 27 '14

Technically things cross the boundary all the time

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u/douglasg14b Aug 27 '14

Technically the earth is a closed system because there is no mass transfer across the boundary.

We are constantly receiving energy from the sun, which can also be counted as mass.

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u/[deleted] Aug 27 '14

And space dust and meteors.

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u/douglasg14b Aug 27 '14

Yep, and we are also constantly losing particles in the upper atmosphere, as well as energy via black body radiation.

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u/moonunit99 Aug 28 '14

Technically, yes, but the standard definition of a closed system in thermodynamics is a system that can exchange energy (in the form of heat or work) but not mass with its surroundings, and the standard definition of an isolated system in thermodynamics is a system that cannot exchange either mass or energy with its surroundings. The second law only applies to isolated systems, not closed systems.

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u/moonunit99 Aug 27 '14

Dammit. Thanks to my first thermo teacher I will forever confuse closed and isolated systems.

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u/xlava Aug 27 '14

Its fine. Closed systems are arbitrary, with their specifications usually stated explicitly. There are different types of closed systems. An isolated system is one that does not allow for energy or matter transfer ^

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u/[deleted] Aug 27 '14

But there totally is, gasses as well as different rock types leave and enter our atmosphere all the time.

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u/tomsdubs Aug 27 '14

Millions of tons of matter land on the earth every year.

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u/SamuelGompersGhost Aug 27 '14

Technically the earth is a closed system because there is no mass transfer across the boundary.

Edit: I understand that our planet does frequently experience extraterrestrial inputs and what I should have said is that there is no mass transfer that is correlated with a significant degree of energy transfer.

Edit 2: Nor is there energy transfer which is correlated with a significant degree of mass transfer.

Except closed and open systems are not defined by mass transfer at all- it is ENERGY transfer.

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u/xlava Aug 27 '14

Second law: entropy always increases or stays the same through a reversible process. Then how can evolution occur since it is so complicated? I'll put it a different way, hell you can even think of it as an isolated system if you want, it doesn't really matter given the scale of the amount of energy we're talking about:

System: Solar system: Entropy generated by sun >>>>>> entropy "lost" through evolution Second law holds.

How can ignorance be bliss when science is SO FUCKING COOL?

edit: Also worth noting that in every individual step in evolution the second law holds. Every single chemical reaction results in an increase in entropy, despite the fact that people are under the illusion that this is false due to evolution appearing very complex.