entropy
Thermodynamics.
(on a macroscopic scale) a function of thermodynamic variables, as temperature, pressure, or composition, and differing from energy in that energy is the ability to do work and entropy is a measure of how much energy is not available. The less work that is produced, the greater the entropy, so when a closed system is void of energy, the result is maximum entropy.
(in statistical mechanics) a measure of the randomness of the microscopic constituents of a thermodynamic system. Symbol: S
(in data transmission and information theory) a measure of the loss of information in a transmitted signal or message.
(in cosmology) a hypothetical tendency for the universe to attain a state of maximum homogeneity in which all matter is at a uniform temperature (heat death ).
a state of disorder, or a tendency toward such a state; chaos.
a doctrine of inevitable social decline and degeneration.
Origin of entropy
1Other words from entropy
- en·tro·pic [en-troh-pik, -trop-ik], /ɛnˈtroʊ pɪk, -ˈtrɒp ɪk/, adjective
Words Nearby entropy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use entropy in a sentence
In Tenet, he does this with time and entropy, proposing a world in which humans have figured out how to reverse the natural process of decline and move backward.
The ancient palindrome that explains Christopher Nolan’s Tenet | Alissa Wilkinson | September 4, 2020 | VoxIn a piece of rubber like Gough’s, the increase in entropy happens in the vibrational motion of the molecules.
While entropy is related to a system’s disorder, it’s more precisely described as a measure of the number of configurations a system can have.
According to the second law of thermodynamics, the total entropy of a closed system must increase, or at least remain constant.
If the entropy of the rubber’s molecular configuration decreases, then the entropy must increase elsewhere.
Until Tuesday, Occupy Wall Street seemed, at least from the outside, to be entering a stage of entropy.
Harsh NYPD Action May Reinvigorate Occupy Wall Street Movement | Michelle Goldberg | November 16, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTThe summation is defined as the increase in entropy between the initial and the final states.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia | VariousAll organic life and movement must cease when this maximum of entropy has been reached.
The reader is therefore warned that the proper way to say it is, "the entropy of the universe tends to a maximum."
Major Prophets of To-Day | Edwin E. SlossonMirrors of anti-entropy shifted, assumed different angles, and the Invincible sheered off.
Empire | Clifford Donald SimakWhen they pierced the anti-entropy, they would cut through the steel plates of the Invincible like so much paper!
Empire | Clifford Donald Simak
British Dictionary definitions for entropy
/ (ˈɛntrəpɪ) /
a thermodynamic quantity that changes in a reversible process by an amount equal to the heat absorbed or emitted divided by the thermodynamic temperature. It is measured in joules per kelvin: Symbol: S See also law of thermodynamics
a statistical measure of the disorder of a closed system expressed by S = k log P + c where P is the probability that a particular state of the system exists, k is the Boltzmann constant, and c is another constant
lack of pattern or organization; disorder
a measure of the efficiency of a system, such as a code or language, in transmitting information
Origin of entropy
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for entropy
[ ĕn′trə-pē ]
A measure of the amount of energy in a physical system not available to do work. As a physical system becomes more disordered, and its energy becomes more evenly distributed, that energy becomes less able to do work. For example, a car rolling along a road has kinetic energy that could do work (by carrying or colliding with something, for example); as friction slows it down and its energy is distributed to its surroundings as heat, it loses this ability. The amount of entropy is often thought of as the amount of disorder in a system. See also heat death.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for entropy
[ (en-truh-pee) ]
A measure of the disorder of any system, or of the unavailability of its heat energy for work. One way of stating the second law of thermodynamics — the principle that heat will not flow from a cold to a hot object spontaneously — is to say that the entropy of an isolated system can, at best, remain the same and will increase for most systems. Thus, the overall disorder of an isolated system must increase.
Notes for entropy
Notes for entropy
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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