| 释义 |
en·tro·py
\ˈen.trəpē, -pi\ noun
(-es)
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary en- (II) + -tropy
1. in thermodynamics : a quantity that is the measure of the amount of energy in a system not available for doing work, numerical changes in the quantity being determinable from the ratio dQ/T where dQ is a small increment of heat added or removed and T is the absolute temperature
< the entropy of dry air is proportional to its potential temperature — A.H.Thiessen >
2. in statistical mechanics : a factor or quantity that is a function of the physical state of a mechanical system and is equal to the logarithm of the probability for the occurrence of the particular molecular arrangement in that state
3. in communication theory : a measure of the efficiency of a system (as a code or a language) in transmitting information, being equal to the logarithm of the number of different messages that can be sent by selection from the same set of symbols and thus indicating the degree of initial uncertainty that can be resolved by any one message
4. : the ultimate state reached in the degradation of the matter and energy of the universe : state of inert uniformity of component elements : absence of form, pattern, hierarchy, or differentiation
< cultural diversity and heterogeneity counteracts the tendency to cultural entropy — David Bidney >
< entropy is the general trend of the universe toward death and disorder — J.R.Newman > |