![]() ![]() ![]() To rank items as equivalent, overlap them. Part A Rank these systems in order of decreasing entropy. Heat distribution from high temperature to low temperature is a another example of this phenomenon. The universe started with low entropy (concentrated in the moment before the "big bang") and the entropy has since been constantly increasing by distributing this energy. The universe has a constant amount of energy as stated in the first law of thermodynamics. Another way of looking at entropy is that the universe is moving toward a broader distribution of energy. ![]() The number of molecules, the space available for the molecules, and the energy available to the molecules will impact the number of microstates. During rotational motion, molecules rotate or spin. During vibrational motion, atoms in a molecule move toward and away from one another. During translational motion, the entire molecule moves in one direction. Molecules may undergo three different types of motion: translational motion, vibrational motion, and rotational motion. The more microstates the system has, the greater its entropy. At the molecular level, entropy can be described in terms of the possible number of different arrangements of particle positions and energies, called microstates. With that perspective on history, we should all take heart: While we’ll never win the war on entropy, we can create windows of wonder and order-if we only try.Qualitative Predictions about Entropy Entropy is the randomness of a system. Terrible times always eventually yielded to better ones, and ultimately led to the advancement of civilization-although at the moment it was probably hard to see exactly how. Over the many millennia of human history, humans overcame chaos and hopelessness. At that time, with the entire world seemingly on fire, one couldn’t imagine a worse chance of staving off entropy-you could practically smell it in the air-yet they did. But stop for a second and imagine what the world looked like to those living through other challenging times, such as the Second World War. Certainly, COVID and the current political climate can make us see things that way. I think it’s probably a truism that, at times, we view our own lives through the lenses of adversity and hopelessness. Often, it can be hard to see a way forward to a lighter, happier, more ordered life. But what should we do with the rock, then? Stop pushing it? Just give up? Clearly not, although at times in our lives, and at various times in human history, it’s tough to acknowledge that. If we stopped pushing, as physics peskily reminds us, the universe would, on its own, move toward darkness and disorder-a very depressing realization. (It also feels good.)Īt the same time, we have to acknowledge that we’re pushing that rock up the hill time after time with no end in sight, and our achievement is only temporary. It’s how we make our mark on the world: Since chaos and disorder are the natural state of things, creating organization is a sign that we were here. Beyond any OCD issues, I think bringing order to chaos is a basic drive of human beings. “A place for everything and everything in its place,” as they say. I suppose it’s a variation of being obsessive/compulsive, which a lot of ophthalmologists are. Personally, I’m one of those many people that can’t stand a mess, disorder or unfinished business. ![]() We constantly work to make our lives and the environment around us more orderly. It’s an endless process that really revolves around creating order out of chaos, evoking a more perfect state from a less perfect one, decreasing entropy.īut why do we feel the need to bring order to things? But, despite these feelings, most of us still set an alarm, get dressed and go do what we’ve always done: See patients, restore sight, take care of our families and our friends. On those days, we start to wonder if we’re the only ones who care. And then there are days when we feel if not crushed, at least defeated. Of course, there are days when we feel we’ve changed the world-or at least someone’s small corner of it. This concept of the universe trending toward chaos comes to mind when bad things happen, when order breaks down. This is the natural way of the universe-unless we push back. Entropy is a loss of useful energy and, unfortunately, it keeps increasing. And a key process describing these systems is entropy, the degree of a system’s randomness or disorder. Physics tells us that, from a very fundamental point of view, all properties and processes in this universe trend toward disorder, less energy, chaos. ![]()
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