CORRECTION:

In shortening chemistry professor Jane Lipson’s comments for publication we incorrectly communicated her rationale for her chosen date (June 23, 1847). Her explanation should have read as follows: On this date, during a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, William Thompson (later Lord Kelvin) highlighted James Joule’s meticulous experiments quantifying beyong dispute the equivalence of energy transferred as heat and energy transformed into mechanical work. Thompson pointed out that Joule’s results were the definitive answer to questions about the nature of energy and its transformations; their work led directly to the second law of thermodynamics. The laws have profound implications, first felt during the Indus- trial Revolution, destined to accompany us forever, as we strive to adapt this universe to our needs and desires.