Ideas regarding gravity and entropy

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the relationship between gravity and entropy, exploring whether entropy acts as an opposing force to gravity and how gravitational wells relate to low entropy states. Participants examine these concepts from a theoretical perspective, with some referencing research and definitions related to entropy.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that entropy opposes gravity, creating gradients that can be exploited for mechanical work, while gravity creates localized low entropy regions.
  • Another participant notes that entropic gravity is a research area, indicating that there are ongoing investigations into the relationship between these concepts.
  • A participant corrects a misunderstanding about the expression "bare with me," highlighting the importance of language in the discussion.
  • It is pointed out that Shannon entropy is not a result of gravity, suggesting a distinction between different types of entropy.
  • One participant argues that pressure variations in a system can occur without gravity, emphasizing that entropy generation relates to the smoothing of various gradients.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relationship between gravity and entropy, with no consensus reached on whether entropy acts as an opposing force to gravity or how gravitational wells relate to entropy. Some points are clarified while others remain contested.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved assumptions regarding the definitions of entropy and its types, as well as the implications of gravity on entropy in different contexts. The discussion also reflects varying levels of understanding among participants.

Jstoff
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TL;DR
Ideas regarding gravity and entropy
I've never had any physics class before so please bare with me on my lack of understanding.

I've been thinking about gravity and its relation to entropy lately and was wondering if my thinking is correct.

Entropy seems to be an opposing force to gravity. where gravity is creating gradients that can be exploited for mechanical work, entropy seems to try to dissolve them. Are gravitation wells not "localized" spots of low entropy? I hear entropy explained with examples like " You wouldn't expect all of the air in room to be on one side of it, because that's statistically unlikely" which at a glance makes sense but even in an "0 g" environment are the air molecules not "statistically weighted" towards the side of the room with the strongest gravitational pull? Seeing that gravity has unlimited range this means there would always be some type of gradient of pressure no matter how small.

Every example of low entropy systems i can think of are a result of a gravitational pull. Is this correct or am i misunderstanding things?
 
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Jstoff said:
TL;DR Summary: Ideas regarding gravity and entropy

I've never had any physics class before so please bare with me ...
"Bear with me" is the expression you are looking for. "Bare with me" is a suggestion that we all take off our clothes together.
 
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Jstoff said:
TL;DR Summary: Ideas regarding gravity and entropy

I've never had any physics class before so please bare with me on my lack of understanding.

I've been thinking about gravity and its relation to entropy lately and was wondering if my thinking is correct.

Entropy seems to be an opposing force to gravity. where gravity is creating gradients that can be exploited for mechanical work, entropy seems to try to dissolve them. Are gravitation wells not "localized" spots of low entropy? I hear entropy explained with examples like " You wouldn't expect all of the air in room to be on one side of it, because that's statistically unlikely" which at a glance makes sense but even in an "0 g" environment are the air molecules not "statistically weighted" towards the side of the room with the strongest gravitational pull? Seeing that gravity has unlimited range this means there would always be some type of gradient of pressure no matter how small.
You don't need to have gravity for the pressure in a system to vary spatially, such as by having all the gas in half the room.
However, it us useful to think of entropy generation as related to smoothing out of velocity-, temperature-, and concentration gradients.
 

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