Retrothermodynamics

The psychological experience of feeling energy and motivation flow backward. In normal thermodynamics, heat flows from hot to cold. In retrothermodynamics, your weekend motivation mysteriously drains into the void of your upcoming Monday. It’s the law that dictates how your excitement for a project evaporates the moment you sit down to work, only to reappear when you're trying to fall asleep. It’s the science of why the battery in your brain is always at 1% when you need it most.

Example: "I had all this energy to go to the gym after work, but by the time 5 PM hit, retrothermodynamics had pulled all that heat into my couch."

by Dumu The Void March 11, 2026

Retrothermodynamics (Physics)

The hypothetical physics of heat, energy, and work operating in reverse temporal direction. In retrothermodynamics, heat would flow spontaneously from cold objects to hot ones, friction would accelerate objects instead of slowing them down, and engines would run by absorbing exhaust fumes and fuel while outputting work and air. It's what you'd get if you took a video of normal thermodynamic processes and played it backward—a universe where every energy transaction is perfectly reversed, and the arrow of thermal time points the other way.

Retrothermodynamics (Physics) Example: "The movie scene where a character's breath unfreezes and returns to their mouth is a charming moment of cinematic retrothermodynamics."

by Dumu The Void March 11, 2026