Entropy
Indeed, entropy governs life. One can view entropy from two different perspectives. One, that it is essentially dispersive in nature. The second is that it is constructive in nature. Entropy is the measure of the spontaneous dispersal of energy within a system or between systems. Chemically, entropy is represented by the symbol, S.
The term entropy has often been misused. It has been misidentified solely as the measure of disorder or chaos. For example, a disorganized room or a pack of cards randomly arranged in a disordered manner is said to have higher entropy. But since there is no change in energy in those systems (through dispersal) it cannot be considered as entropy. (Lambert, 2003)
Entropy can be more explained using the basic laws of thermodynamics from physical chemistry and physics. Indeed, it is these laws that govern nature. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that the energy of the universe remains constant; or, that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that energy dispersal is always spontaneous or that the entropy of natural processes if always positive. This means that in a chemical reaction the dispersed energy of products is greater than that of the reactants. Therefore, the change in entropy, ?S = Sproducts - Sreactants, and ?S > 0. (Atkins and De Paula, 2002)
Entropy effects are seen in almost every instance of life. At an atomic and molecular level, the energy of substances is associated with their motion. A more energetic compound has greater motion. This atomic and molecular motion can be translational, vibrational and/or rotational, in decreasing order of energy. Each of these motions is associated with...
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