07.22.07 -- Thermodynamics

Sunday, July 22, 2007

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ACROSTIC by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz

Natalie Angier's "The Canon" -- "The second law of thermodynamics guarantees a certain degree of chaos and mishap in your life no matter how compulsively you plan your schedule and triple-check every report... to err is not just human, it's divined." is this Sunday science and sociology stumper's quotation -- a recentlly published work reviewed in The New York Times -- HERE.

A partial quote from a review by Amanda Schaffer of The Houston Chronicle states "...New York Times science writer and Pulitzer Prize-winner Natalie Angier offers up her own witty, idiosyncratic primer on the sciences — an exuberant Cliffs Notes for grown-ups that highlights core principles of physics, chemistry, evolutionary and molecular biology, geology and astronomy."

"Chaos" -- Anonymous, 1841

The quotation and defined words certainly spark an interest in this publication -- however, it's not easy for non-scientific specimens such as myself getting there! The defined words, for the most part, fit neatly into the scheme of things:

NEPHOLOGY (A. The study of clouds and their formation)

ANKYLOSAUR (B. Armor-plated club-tailed herbivore of the Cretaceous Period)

TRUFFAUT (C. Director of the 1966 sci-fi film "Fahrenheit 451")

ALPHAWAVES (D. Electromagnetic output of the brain [2 wds.])

LEYDENJAR (E. Early form of capacitor made of glass and tinfoil [2 wds.])

ICHTHYIC (F. Fish-related)

ENTROPY (G. Degradation of matter and energy)

ANSWERS (H. What researchers search for)

NYCTALOPIA (I. Night blindness)

GROUNDED (J. Like good AC wiring [or a bad teen?])

IMPERFECT (K. Falling short of the ideal state)

EVENEDOUT (L. Leveled off; became more uniform [2 wds.])

REDUCTIVE (M. Like reasoning from complex to simple)

TIDES (N. Gravity-caused fluctuations)

HAMMERHEAD (O. Predator whose eyes may be three feet apart)

ECHINODERMS (P. Sea urchins, sand dollars and their ilk)

COLORS (Q. Parts of the visible spectrum)

ATRIUM (R. A place in the heart)

NEUTRON (S. A little something that comes free of charge)

OSMOSIS (T. One way to get through a wall)

NEOLITHIC (U. From the last phase of the Stone Age)

A tough, but rewarding solve!

Chaos in the cosmos

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

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