Entropy

Epic card · No. 11609

Entropy is a thermodynamic state variable that quantifies the probabilistic distribution of accessible microstates in a system. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynamics (where it was first recognized), to the microscopic description of nature in statistical physics, and the principles of information theory. It has far-ranging applications in chemistry and physics, in biological systems and their relation to life, in cosmology, economics, and information systems including the transmission of information in telecommunication. Entropy is central to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy of an isolated system left to spontaneous evolution cannot decrease with time. As a result, isolated systems evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium, where the entropy is highest. "High" entropy means that energy is more uniformly distributed or dispersed within a system, while "low" entropy means that energy is more unevenly distributed or...

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