Excellent post. I was impressed by how the Olympic track cyclist was impressed by how hard it was to generate 700 watts to toast bread. Also, that plant photosynthetic efficiency is only 1% extraction of solar energy [though I have seen slightly higher estimates].

Another well written discourse, Schalk. Thanks.

I don't really understand thermodynamics.  I am instead very intrigued by quantum mechanics and chemical structure. The quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator zero point energy applies to biochemistry structure. Biochemistry has remarkable structure and includes electro dynamics. A lot of molecular modeling tools have been made available on my openSUSE linux distros. Wish I could say I knew more.

Schalk - as always, great and insightful article.  I am with Matt some of this should be taught in K-12 schools.   I highly recommend all of our community members to read this submission! 

Your intro had me giggling - I wish I could write like this :)

"

Do you ever sense the presence of some invisible force quietly controlling every aspect of our lives from behind a shadowy veil? Could it be the world’s billionaires and central bankers? How about all those omnipresent tech companies? Perhaps it could even be the Illuminati or some other mysterious society.

But no, none of these hold a candle to the almighty deity that graces the title of this humble article: the Second Law of thermodynamics."

Thermodynamics is a relatively complicated subject for the average individual.

I think a more practical thermodynamics understanding lies with: 

“You don’t get something for nothing”.

Kind of a Yogi Berra, versus scientific, definition. For millennials, Yogi Berra was a catcher for the New York Yankees with an uncommon gift for practical humorous observations.