The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.
If there’s one law of physics that seems easy to grasp, it’s the second law of thermodynamics: Heat flows spontaneously from hotter bodies to colder ones. But now, gently and almost casually, data-offer-url=”https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/persons/alexssandre-de-oliveira-junior” class=”external-link” data-event-click=”{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/persons/alexssandre-de-oliveira-junior"}” href=”https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/persons/alexssandre-de-oliveira-junior” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Alexssandre de Oliveira Jr. has just shown me I didn’t truly understand it at all.
Take this hot cup of coffee and this cold jug of milk, the Brazilian physicist said as we sat in a café in Copenhagen. Bring them into contact and, sure enough,…
