Article
Article
Entropy
Article By:
Jaep, William F. Central Research Department, Experimental Station, E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Delaware.
Rockett, Frank H. Engineering Consultant, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.235400
A function first introduced in classical thermodynamics to provide a quantitative basis for the common observation that naturally occurring processes have a particular direction. Subsequently, in statistical thermodynamics, entropy was shown to be a measure of the number of microstates a system could assume. Finally, in communication theory, entropy is a measure of information. Each of these aspects will be considered in turn. Before the entropy function is introduced, it is necessary to discuss reversible processes.
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