So what does entropy have to do with it? Simple, my friend.įor simplicity, imagine that Paul has but three pairs of socks, three pale blue socks and three pink ones. You understand immediately how much it upset poor Paul. She insisted that he place his pale blue socks on the left in a drawer of his dresser and his pink socks on the right in the same drawer. I have a friend whose mother was very hard on him during his childhood. e., with a certain configuration or order of its components. There are several ways to explain entropy, but the following is certainly the most intuitive version.Įntropy is (approximately) the probability that something composed occurs in a certain state, i. Food lovers can think of a sauce with water and wine molecules, ground peppercorns, salt ions, aromatic molecules of mushroom, basil and other good things.
To understand the word “composed”, one can imagine a assembly of molecules or grains of something. Even an electromagnetic field, such as light, is composed of photons. There are many others.īiological, chemical and physical sciences explain that everything is composed of other smaller things, with a few exceptions (the most elementary particles, such as quarks). Another form of “work” for which energy is required is the movement of electrons in a wire (called electric current) or the movement of electrically charged ions in the nervous system. Energy is the capacity for doing work, such as moving or lifting a heavy object. Thermodynamics is the science of all forms of energy, so it underlies all sciences. There is even an entropy matching information, which I admit I do not understand.Įntropy is a central concept in the branch of physics called thermodynamics. It has been shown that they are compatible. Different goals sometimes have brought up different aspects of entropy. In a word, the notion of entropy has evolved. But despite the abstract nature of entropy, we can have a qualitative and usable understanding of it.Īcross history, entropy has been studied at different times for different purposes, for example, to build the best possible heat engine. There is no such thing as an entropy meter. You can not hold a grain of entropy in your hand, or even feel it, like warmth or cold. But you do not have to remember that.) The thing which makes it difficult is that you must calculate entropy. (For instance, in a process where heat energy is transferred to an object, the entropy of the process is the amount of heat divided by the temperature (S = Q / T. Otherwise, let’s go on.Įntropy is a concept, a mathematical construction, often calculated as the quotient of two other figures. If you have already understood that, you can skip the rest of this article. Entropy thus serves to predict which direction a process will take, forwards or backwards in time. Nature seeks disorder, and therefore increased entropy. Here is a spoiler: Entropy is a measure of disorder. For example, a whole egg can become a broken egg (all too easily), while the contrary has never been known to happen. We will see that entropy is essential for understanding why certain things happen and others do not. And since I replied poorly to the same question once, I ‘ll try to do it right this time. Entropy, you said “entropy”? What’s that?
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