entropy

Also known as thermodynamic entropy

Entropy is a scientific concept, most commonly associated with states of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynamics, where it was first recognized, to the microscopic description of nature in statistical physics, and to the principles of information theory. It has found far-ranging applications in chemistry and physics, in biological systems and their relation to life, in cosmology, economics, and information systems including the transmission of information in telecommunication.

AI overview

Entropy is a measure of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty that appears throughout nature and science, from the behavior of heat and molecules to the organization of information. It matters because understanding entropy helps explain fundamental processes in physics, chemistry, biology, economics, and technology—essentially how systems change and evolve across virtually all scientific disciplines.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Physical quantity.name: Entropy
Physical quantity.unit: joules per kelvin (J⋅K−1)
Physical quantity.symbols: S
Physical quantity.baseunits: kg⋅m2⋅s−2⋅K−1

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Research

71,730 papers

Entropy for the Complexity of Physiological Signal Dynamics.ReviewAdvances in experimental medicine and biology · 2017Zhang XDDOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-6041-0_3
Enthalpy-entropy compensation: the role of solvation.ReviewEuropean biophysics journal : EBJ · 2017Dragan AI, Read CM, Crane-Robinson CDOI: 10.1007/s00249-016-1182-6
Entropy and Human Aging.Aging cell · 2025Cummings SR, Hong N, Cohen AADOI: 10.1111/acel.70292
Portable Models for Entropy Effects on Kinetic Selectivity.ReviewJournal of the American Chemical Society · 2022Tantillo DJDOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c04683
The Molecular Origin of Enthalpy/Entropy Compensation in Biomolecular Recognition.ReviewAnnual review of biophysics · 2018Fox JM, Zhao M, Fink MJ et al.DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-070816-033743
Entropy and Enzyme Catalysis.Accounts of chemical research · 2017Åqvist J, Kazemi M, Isaksen GV et al.DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.6b00321
RETRACTED: Entropy-based financial asset pricing: Evidence from Pakistan.PloS one · 2022Wang S, Khan SA, Munir M et al.DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278236
Entropy-based reliable non-invasive detection of coronary microvascular dysfunction using machine learning algorithm.Mathematical biosciences and engineering : MBE · 2023Zhao X, Gong Y, Xu L et al.DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2023582

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Wikidata facts

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Commons category: Entropy
Stack Exchange tag: quantumcomputing.stackexchange.com/tags/entropy

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~60 min read

Article

39 sections

Contents

History
Etymology
Definitions and descriptions
State variables and functions of state
Reversible process
Carnot cycle
Classical thermodynamics
Statistical mechanics
Entropy of a system
Equivalence of definitions
Second law of thermodynamics
Applications
The fundamental thermodynamic relation
Entropy in chemical thermodynamics
World's technological capacity to store and communicate entropic information
Entropy balance equation for open systems
Entropy change formulas for simple processes
Isothermal expansion or compression of an ideal gas
Cooling and heating
Phase transitions
Approaches to understanding entropy
Standard textbook definitions
Order and disorder
Energy dispersal
Relating entropy to energy ''usefulness''
Entropy and adiabatic accessibility
Entropy in quantum mechanics
Information theory
Measurement
Interdisciplinary applications
Philosophy and theoretical physics
Biology
Cosmology
Economics
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links

Entropy is central to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy of an isolated system left to spontaneous evolution cannot decrease with time. As a result, isolated systems evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium, where the entropy is highest. "High" entropy means that energy is more disordered or dispersed, while "low" entropy means that energy is more ordered or concentrated. A consequence of the second law of thermodynamics is that certain processes are irreversible.