Can quantum systems become more disordered, as thermodynamics would predict? Yes, they can - if a proper definition of "entropy" is used. It is one of the most important laws of nature that we know: ...

Can the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? This intriguing hypothetical scenario, commonly called "the butterfly effect," has come to embody the popular conception of a ...

THERE is, I fear, a difficulty in drafting Prof. Bryan's definition so as to be clear as well as accurate. This arises when the definition is first given with reference to the entropy of the working ...

How it works When laser light passes through a cavity filled with atoms, part of it can do useful work. In this example the work is charging a quantum battery (top). The rest of the light turns into ...

Though a cornerstone of thermodynamics, entropy remains one of the most vexing concepts to teach budding physicists in the classroom. As a result, many people oversimplify the concept as the amount of ...

I recently led a webinar on the laws of thermodynamics, which got me thinking: A business is very much a closed system, such as a universe. Therefore, if entropy is always increasing in a closed ...

Though a cornerstone of thermodynamics, entropy remains one of the most vexing concepts to teach budding physicists in the classroom. Physics teachers designed a hand-held model to demonstrate the ...