New research shows that the second law of thermodynamics, which states entropy increases over time, also applies to closed ...

The second law of thermodynamics demands that the entropy of any closed macroscopic ... from experience with systems having short-range interactions. Take a dilute gas, for example.

Or, to put it more precisely: That entropy must increase in every closed system. Ordered structures lose their order, regular ice crystals turn into water, porcelain vases are broken up into shards.

Entropy always increases, but in quantum systems, traditional entropy measures seem constant. TU Wien researchers resolved this paradox by considering Shannon entropy, which accounts for the ...