Entropy Articles

Tag Archive for: Entropy

What is Entropy

What Thermodynamics and Entropy Means

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Introduction The student of thermodynamics, as they consider pistons and ideal gasses and such, often begin to grasp the nature of entropy only to find…
information definition

How to Better Define Information in Physics

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Introduction When I ask questions about the conservation of information I frequently get the reply, “It depends on what you mean by information.”  …
statmech2

Learn Statistical Mechanics: The Ideal Gas

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Read Part 1: Equilibrium Systems The Ideal Gas: Boltzmann's Approach (The Microcanonical Ensemble) Consider a monatomic gas of ##N## non-interacting…
entanglement_entropy2

Lesson on Entanglement Entropy in Quantum Field Theory

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Part 1: Quantum Mechanics[This article expects the reader to have some experience with quantum field theory and path integrals][I should also…
entanglement_entropy

Learn Entanglement Entropy in Quantum Mechanics

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Quantum Mechanics(QM) is one of the greatest intellectual achievements in human history. Not only because it describes the world at the microscopic level…
entropy

How to Determine the Change in Entropy

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How do you determine the change in entropy for a closed system that is subjected to an irreversible process?Here are some typical questions we get…
earlyuniverse

Why Wasn’t the Early Universe at Maximum Entropy?

No. The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy can only increase over time. If the early universe had begun in a state of maximum entropy, the…
animationwalk

Fun with Self-Avoiding Walks Simulations

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This post is about some simulations I did of self-avoiding random walks. These are what they sound like with each step, the position of the walk moves…
negative temperature

Negative Absolute Temperatures: Explanation & Examples

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It's a famous result in thermodynamics that you cannot reach absolute zero no matter how hard you try. Given the definition of absolute zero, it is also…
Thermodynamics

Understanding the Second Law of Thermodynamics Clearly

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Introduction The second law of thermodynamics and the associated concept of entropy have been sources of confusion for thermodynamics students for centuries.…