Improvisation and he Second Law of Thermodynamics

I'd like to explore the energy of an improvisational scene as it pertains to the second law of thermodynamics. The following is probably, but not necessarily, a metaphor. Often we speak of a scene's energy. Is that a word we throw around to describe such things as pace, loudness, stage presence, and so on, or is the energy of a scene real? We say, "Pick up the energy in that scene!" or "We lost our energy in that last scene." Energy energy. If an improv scene is a closed system, and the energy we speak of is real, then the scene must adhere to the laws of physics. Two laws of physics are the first and second laws of thermo­dynamics. Does a stupid improv scene adhere to the first and second laws of thermodynamics? Let's find out. And if it does or doesn't, who cares? Let's find out.

First of all, we need to know the definition of energy. Energy is the capacity to do work. What is work in this definition? Work is a force on something moving it a distance. Work = force times distance (W =fd). I would guess that right now you're getting into the "Oh my God, there's an equation and my brain shuts down and I hate this stuff mode. Equations are like that, but just take a look at it. Throw a poodle off a cliff. Throwing a poodle off a cliff is work. You apply a force to the poodle and it travels a distance. In a moment, gravity, another force, takes over and pulls the poodle to the earth, another distance, shattering its manicured body. Work = force (your throw) X distance (how far the ill-fated poodle travels). W = fd: easy. So energy is the capacity to apply a force to something and move it a distance. Easy.

Now let's look at the relentless laws of thermodynamics. The first law is better known than the second.

 

First Law of Thermodynamics

Energy can never be created or destroyed, only transformed.

This means that there is only so much energy in the universe. You can't create more and you cannot, under any circumstances, destroy what is there. The First National Energy Bank of the Universe has one set amount of energy in its account. The energy can change from one form to another, say from solar to electrical, but the total amount of energy never ever changes.

"You can't win," people often say of the first law. No matter what you do in an exchange of energy in this universe, you will never ulti­mately come out ahead, because a greater amount of energy will never be created. Another way of stating the first law is that there is a conservation of energy in the universe. Energy, or the capacity to do work (which is a force moving something a distance), is not created or destroyed, it is conserved.

Now you know the first law of thermodynamics.

Before we travel to the second law, I want to introduce another equation, E = mc². Along with the conservation of energy in the uni­verse, there is also a conservation of matter. Matter can never be cre­ated or destroyed. Einstein's famous equation shows the relationship between energy and matter. The E in the equation stands for energy. The m stands for mass. The c stands for the speed of light. Energy = moss times the speed of light squared. The speed of light is a constant. It never changes. No matter what the circumstances in the universe, the speed at which light travels never changes. That speed is 186,000 miles per second. So the equation E = mc² says that the energy that any object in the universe possesses is the object's mass times the speed of light squared. A beer can has this much energy:

  E = (mass of beer can) times the speed of light squared. If you do the mathematics, the amount of energy in any object (its mass energy) is astounding. This equation is that simple and that incomprehensible.

We see no visible effects of the energy contained in the things around us, so it doesn't seem to make much sense. Think of any piece of matter in the universe, say, a thimble, having an insane amount of energy reserves, but there is never a withdrawal from its energy bank, and there is never a deposit to its energy bank. The thimble has a huge reserve of mass energy that just sits there like a hidden Swiss bank account. Is this crazy and vast amount of mass energy ever released from matter? Yes, but rarely. An example of mass energy release is found in nuclear bombs and nuclear power. One of our only rare glimpses of this energy is the tremendous amount released in a nuclear event.

Because the speed of light, c, never changes, there is always a direct correlation between energy and mass. Energy = mass x a con­stant (the speed of light squared). Just as there is conservation of energy in the universe, so there is a conservation of mass; the corre­lation between energy and mass stays equal. The first law.

("Excuse me, I really just want to improvise.")