New Issue: Orbital Catastrophe Ahead? Read Now

Poem: ‘Large Hadron Collider,’ ‘Maxwell’s Demon’ and ‘Music for the Heat Death of the Universe’

Science in meter and verse

Tryptic of image with stars, particles, music notes and a hand opening a door.

Masha Foya

LARGE HADRON COLLIDER

Lab coat voyeurs
collide
scatter

Protons bloom
one nanosecond
two


On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.


Lace webs sprout
charm quarks
like Cheshire cats

MAXWELL’S DEMON

Demon bars a door
 too tiny
for the likes of us to see

He lets fast atoms pass
 from B to A
Their slower cousins
 from A to B

Exclusion being
 so small a price
to pay for immortality

MUSIC FOR THE HEAT DEATH OF THE UNIVERSE

“There’s music in everything, even defeat.”
—Charles Bukowski

Last star ember
goes dark

Every atom freezes
absolute zero

A mournful oboe
lingers
 wavers

   stops

Micháel McCormick’s poems and short stories have appeared in more than 80 journals and anthologies. He holds a degree in mathematics and takes inspiration from math and science for much of his work. His debut novel, Gods of Central Park, will be published soon by Foundations Book Publishing.

More by Micháel McCormick
Scientific American Magazine Vol 334 Issue 1This article was published with the title “'Large Hadron Collider,' 'Maxwell’s Demon' and 'Music for the Heat Death of the Universe'” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 334 No. 1 (), p. 85
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican012026-6CQSSlEdOCnmsanvrA7c85

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe