So what is entropy? One thing we can all agree upon is that energy disperses, if it is not hindered to do so. This can also be seen as increasing disorder, because, as energy disperses, the molecules involved, move in more chaotic patterns. However, it is true that shuffled cards, or a broken glass on the floor, are rather more chaotic conditions than a dispersion of energy. The confusing point is that one has to do work to restore the original order, not so much work to order the shuffled cards, but basically infinite work to restore the broken glass ( without using new materials ) to its original condition. This work disperses in the environment and decays to heat at that environment ” s temperature. We are thus talking about closed loop, cycle processes here and if these processes are irreversible ( they must be driven by an external source ), the applied energy will disperse in the surroundings.
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