Maxwell's Silver Dæmon

Specs

• idea by Brooke Vibber
• Lyrics originally posted on TootCat: verse 1, verse 2, verse 3

Lyrics

Joan was quizzical
studying a physical
science course online
Late nights all alone with a laptop,
ohh... uh-oh oh...

Ran experiments
Testing all the variants
Noticed something odd
"Where oh where did all the entropy go?", uh-oh oh...

But as she's calibrating the dials
it comes into her head --

Bang bang Maxwell's silver dæmon gives heat and cold for free!
Bang bang Maxwell's silver dæmon reduces entropy!

Back in school again,
entropy's the rule again --
teacher gets annoyed:
"You know you can't make hot and cold air for free, ee-ee-ee."

James Clerk Maxawell
tells them all to go to hell
draws a pentagram
summoning a friendly imp from below,
ut-oh oh.

But as the final corner is drawn,
the "find out" phase arrives --

Bang bang Maxwell's silver dæmon
throws time into reverse
Bang bang Maxwell's silver dæmon
destroys the universe.

Outside space and time,
cosmic watchers draw a line --
must contain this mess.
No-one wants to have to reboot this show, uh-oh oh.

Joan and James appear
(...wait, how did those two get here?
No-one seems to know.)
Joan suggests a plan, and James makes it go, oh-oh oh...

And as he turns the power-switch on,
reality does a slide --

Bang bang, Maxwell's silver dæmon is banished -- free and clear!
Bang bang, Maxwell's silver dæmon
was just an abstract idea, whoa-whoa...