entropy
/ˈɛntrəpi
/noun [mass noun]
1 Physics A thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system’s thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system: the second law of thermodynamics says that entropy always increases with time [count noun]: the sum of the entropies of all the bodies taking part in the process (Symbol: S) Despite the large increase in enthalpy and entropy, the free energy difference between the closed and open conformations is relatively small....
- The enthalpy, entropy, and free energy changes in the opening reaction of each basepair are determined from the temperature dependence of the exchange rates.
- In Chapter 3 we discussed how the thermodynamic arrow of entropy increase is a reflection of the relative probabilities of various states.
2Lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder: a marketplace where entropy reigns supreme...
- He was unable to arrest the gradual entropy that had set in.
- People have a natural tendency to rebel against entropy to return order to their environments.
- Patrick's final resting place wasn't quite as romantic as she'd envisioned it, but after a day in this town where entropy seemed to reign unchecked, she was unsurprised.
3(In information theory) a logarithmic measure of the rate of transfer of information in a particular message or language.These functions range from simple bookkeeping tasks to serious number-crunching algorithms such as deconvolution, maximum entropy, Fourier transforms and more....
- But no serious scientist would expect that such a thing were possible, for the simple reason that it would be a violation of the fundamental principles of entropy / information theory.
- Information, entropy, and computation become metaphors for us at a much broader level.
Derivatives
entropic
- In keeping with the general entropic tendency of the universe, all my futile efforts at gathering and retaining, my naïve tendency toward nest-egging, fly directly in the face of the entire universe itself!
- The other problem with paranoia is that it tends to become exhausting being so cynical and suspicious and any entropic system needs a continuous input of energy to continue working rather than excessive expenditures.
- By tending towards the whole, it is possible to conceptualize the equalizing of difference in a fully entropic global communication system.
entropically
- The decondensation is entropically driven due to the higher number of ligand binding sites in decondensed DNA in comparison with the condensed molecules.
- Furthermore, as the DNA unbinds entropically at extensions before the overstretching transition, these calculations predict that the plateau will not be seen in the force-extension curves for a dodecamer, as is indeed the case.
- The extent to which the DNA binding of a given protein will be enthalpically or entropically driven is a function of solution conditions, such as temperature, salt concentration, pH, etc.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from en-2 'inside' + Greek tropē 'transformation'.