Equivalent Exchange/Quotes

""The increase in the internal energy of a system is equal to the amount of energy added by heating the system, minus the amount lost as a result of the work done by the system on its surroundings.""

- The First Law of Thermodynamics

""Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only changed in form.""

- Law of Conservation of Energy

""To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction: or the forces of two bodies on each other are always equal and are directed in opposite directions.""

- Newton's Third Law of Motion

""Alchemy: the science of understanding, deconstructing, and reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art; it is impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal value must be given. This is the Law of Equivalent Exchange, the basis of all alchemy. In accordance with this law, there is a taboo among alchemists: human transmutation is strictly forbidden - for what could equal the value of a human soul...?""

- Narrator, in the Opening Narration to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

""Oh, you could do it all by magic, you certainly could. You could wave a wand and get twinkly stars and a fresh-baked loaf. You could make fish jump out of the sea already cooked. And then, somewhere, somehow, magic would present its bill, which was always more than you could afford.""

- Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

""There ain't no such thing as a free lunch""

- Robert Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, also known as The Dismal Science in a nutshell