macaroni
Explanation
This single-panel comic shows a parent pulling macaroni out of the microwave and telling their kids: "Okay kids, macaroni's done in the microwave, but give it 5 minutes to reach its inevitable heat death."
The caption reads: "Reading cosmology has revolutionized the way I talk about thermal equilibrium."
The humor lies in applying the grandiose language of cosmology to an utterly mundane domestic situation. In physics, "heat death" refers to the theoretical end state of the universe, when all energy has been evenly distributed and no more thermodynamic work can be done -- the ultimate thermal equilibrium. The parent is using this term to describe the simple act of letting microwaved macaroni cool down to an edible temperature. The comedy comes from the absurd mismatch in scale: the heat death of the universe is a profound cosmological concept spanning trillions of years, while cooling macaroni takes about five minutes. The parent has become so steeped in physics reading that they can no longer describe everyday thermal processes without invoking cosmic terminology.