A Technical Definition of Entropy

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Introduction

One of the most important concepts in thermodynamics is entropy. In thermodynamics, a system is any region of space that is to be studied. Entropy is a thermodynamic property of a system just like the temperature, pressure, and composition. Specifically, entropy is a measure of the randomness of a system and has units of joules per kelvin. A joule is a measurement of energy and a kelvin is a measurement of temperature. A system whose members are highly randomized is said to be highly disordered and therefore has higher entropy. Conversely, if the members of a system are highly ordered, the system is said to exhibit low entropy. Entropy is also the basis for the Second Law of Thermodynamics which states that the entropy of a system always increases (Nave, 2000). This explains why in nature things tend to go from orderly states to disorganized states. For example, rooms tend to get disorganized, ice tends to melt, objects tend to break, etc.

Etymology

The term entropy was first coined by the German physicist Rudolph Clausius in 1865 (Weisstein, 2007). In Germany, the word was originally known as entropie which Clausius used as an analogy for the German word energie. The word originated from the Greek word entropia which means “turning toward” (Harper, 2010). Upon the formulation of the term entropy, Clausius wrote, “I have intentionally constructed the word entropy to be as similar as possible to the word energy…” (Baierlein, 1992). It is clear from this that the word entropy was based off the word energy in order to show the physical similarity of the two quantities. Despite this, the definition of entropy may not be immediately clear by the etymology, but it does imply that the word involves a change. This is indee...

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Claude shannon (1916- ) and communication theory. (1996). Retrieved from http://www.exploratorium.edu/complexity/CompLexicon/Shannon.html

Harper, D. (2010). Online etymology dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=entropy&searchmode=none

Information theory. (2011). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/287907/information-theory

Nave, R. (2000). Entropy as time's arrow. Retrieved from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/therm/entrop.html

Second law of thermodynamics. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.allaboutscience.org/second-law-of-thermodynamics.htm

Weisstein, E. W. (2007). Clausius, rudolf (1822-1888). Retrieved from http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Clausius.html

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