Entropy: A little understood concept in physics [video]

Post by Piezoid » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 4:49 PM UTC

floatrock wrote: post #58

The part that was new to me was the bit about how a space full of life tends toward more entropy faster than the same amount of space without life. Like the best ideas, it’s simple and makes sense if you think about it, but it’s still a really interesting framing that the complex machinery of life is really just the most efficient “entropy converter”. If there’s something about the arrow of time that speeds towards t…

Post by syntaxing » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 5:03 PM UTC

spuz wrote: post #27

I think the concept would be easier for me to understand if we talked about the inverse of entropy - i.e. some kind of measurement for the concentration of useful energy or "order". I think it would then be more intuitive to say that this measurement always decreases. Do we even have a word for the opposite of entropy?

Post by semi-extrinsic » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 5:08 PM UTC

quickthrower2 wrote: post #62

floatrock wrote: post #58

The part that was new to me was the bit about how a space full of life tends toward more entropy faster than the same amount of space without life. Like the best ideas, it’s simple and makes sense if you think about it, but it’s still a really interesting framing that the complex machinery of life is really just the most efficient “entropy converter”. If there’s something about the arrow of time that speeds towards t…

Does Einstein’s model of time care about entropy. In other words if there are 2 regions, one where entropy is increasing at that time and one where it isn’t as much, does it affect time?

Post by credit_guy » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 5:13 PM UTC

consilient wrote: post #69

credit_guy wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that a fact? Or just a hypothetical way that could save the second principle?

It's a fact. See for instance https://arxiv.org/pdf/0907.0659.pdf

  Recent work has cast some doubt on the heat death hypothesis and the applicability of any simple thermodynamic model to the universe in general. Although entropy does increase in the model of an expanding universe, the maximum possible entropy rises much more rapidly, moving the universe further from the heat death with time, not closer. This results in an "entropy gap" pushing the system further away from the posited heat death equilibrium. Other complicating factors, such as the energy density of the vacuum and macroscopic quantum effects, are difficult to reconcile with thermodynamical models, making any predictions of large-scale thermodynamics extremely difficult.

Post by danq__ » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 5:21 PM UTC

esafak wrote: post #78

Solvency wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh? "Force"?

concept