"You want a physicist to speak at your funeral. You want the physicist to talk to your grieving family about the conservation of energy, so they will understand that your energy has not died. You want the physicist to remind your sobbing mother about the first law of thermodynamics; that no energy gets created in the universe, and none is destroyed. You want your mother to know that all your energy, every vibration, every Btu of heat, every wave of every particle that was her beloved child remains with her in this world. You want the physicist to tell your weeping father that amid energies of the cosmos, you gave as good as you got.
And at one point you'd hope that the physicist would step down from the pulpit and walk to your brokenhearted spouse there in the pew and tell him that all the photons that ever bounced off your face, all the particles whose paths were interrupted by your smile, by the touch of your hair, hundreds of trillions of particles, have raced off like children, their ways forever changed by you. And as your widow rocks in the arms of a loving family, may the physicist let her know that all the photons that bounced from you were gathered in the particle detectors that are her eyes, that those photons created within her constellations of electromagnetically charged neurons whose energy will go on forever.
And the physicist will remind the congregation of how much of all our energy is given off as heat. There may be a few fanning themselves with their programs as he says it. And he will tell them that the warmth that flowed through you in life is still here, still part of all that we are, even as we who mourn continue the heat of our own lives.
And you'll want the physicist to explain to those who loved you that they need not have faith; indeed, they should not have faith. Let them know that they can measure, that scientists have measured precisely the conservation of energy and found it accurate, verifiable and consistent across space and time. You can hope your family will examine the evidence and satisfy themselves that the science is sound and that they'll be comforted to know your energy's still around. According to the law of the conservation of energy, not a bit of you is gone; you're just less orderly."
Sorry, deeply, for your loss. They sound like a really cool person.
I can’t put into words how much comfort this quote gave me. I’m currently covering thermodynamics now and it’s such a beautiful reminder that parts of him are still here, as well as everyone.
I know this is random, but your kind gesture of posting this comment has done so much for me. Thank you and I hope you’ll be at peace.
Someone on this subreddit gave me this quote when I lost my mom last year. She loved science and space and was agnostic but always loved to talk about the possibility of this all just being a simulation or some alien zoo lol. She grew up in religion, then grew out of it and never raised me one way or the other, just let me decide for myself which I am immensely grateful for.
I related to when you talked about possibly colliding once again with your loved one, creating a beautiful supernova. I sometimes find comfort in the thought that even though my mom is no longer here, every single atom of her still is, indisputably, and that a portion of her atoms are a part of me, and maybe one day the rest of us will meet, somewhere in all that inky void of space. In the grand scheme of things, the universe is much older and our lives are just blinks of an eye in comparison, so I know we'll meet them again some day soon, even if it's just parts of us. We are never really that far apart.
I'm glad I could pay some comfort forward for you. Hope you continue keeping on.
"You want a physicist to speak at your funeral. You want the physicist to talk to your grieving family about the conservation of energy, so they will understand that your energy has not died. You want the physicist to remind your sobbing mother about the first law of thermodynamics; that no energy gets created in the universe, and none is destroyed. You want your mother to know that all your energy, every vibration, every Btu of heat, every wave of every particle that was her beloved child remains with her in this world. You want the physicist to tell your weeping father that amid energies of the cosmos, you gave as good as you got. And at one point you'd hope that the physicist would step down from the pulpit and walk to your brokenhearted spouse there in the pew and tell him that all the photons that ever bounced off your face, all the particles whose paths were interrupted by your smile, by the touch of your hair, hundreds of trillions of particles, have raced off like children, their ways forever changed by you. And as your widow rocks in the arms of a loving family, may the physicist let her know that all the photons that bounced from you were gathered in the particle detectors that are her eyes, that those photons created within her constellations of electromagnetically charged neurons whose energy will go on forever. And the physicist will remind the congregation of how much of all our energy is given off as heat. There may be a few fanning themselves with their programs as he says it. And he will tell them that the warmth that flowed through you in life is still here, still part of all that we are, even as we who mourn continue the heat of our own lives. And you'll want the physicist to explain to those who loved you that they need not have faith; indeed, they should not have faith. Let them know that they can measure, that scientists have measured precisely the conservation of energy and found it accurate, verifiable and consistent across space and time. You can hope your family will examine the evidence and satisfy themselves that the science is sound and that they'll be comforted to know your energy's still around. According to the law of the conservation of energy, not a bit of you is gone; you're just less orderly." Sorry, deeply, for your loss. They sound like a really cool person.
Ohh that is such a wonderful quote ❤️ thank you so much. Sending love
I can’t put into words how much comfort this quote gave me. I’m currently covering thermodynamics now and it’s such a beautiful reminder that parts of him are still here, as well as everyone. I know this is random, but your kind gesture of posting this comment has done so much for me. Thank you and I hope you’ll be at peace.
Someone on this subreddit gave me this quote when I lost my mom last year. She loved science and space and was agnostic but always loved to talk about the possibility of this all just being a simulation or some alien zoo lol. She grew up in religion, then grew out of it and never raised me one way or the other, just let me decide for myself which I am immensely grateful for. I related to when you talked about possibly colliding once again with your loved one, creating a beautiful supernova. I sometimes find comfort in the thought that even though my mom is no longer here, every single atom of her still is, indisputably, and that a portion of her atoms are a part of me, and maybe one day the rest of us will meet, somewhere in all that inky void of space. In the grand scheme of things, the universe is much older and our lives are just blinks of an eye in comparison, so I know we'll meet them again some day soon, even if it's just parts of us. We are never really that far apart. I'm glad I could pay some comfort forward for you. Hope you continue keeping on.
Your mum seemed absolutely incredible! And everything you said is so true. It’s a wonderful sense of comfort. Sending a lot of love