RUTH QUIRCE  “ENTROPY” 

 

The most basic definition of this concept is the following: Entropy is the degree of disorder that a system has.  The word entropy comes from the Greek "em" which means : on, in and near; and “sqop” which means turn, alternative, change, evolution or transformation. Entropy is a standard of measurement. In physics this applies to the second law of thermodynamics, which says that isolated systems tend to disorder, that is, things tend to chaos as time goes by (just look at the organism of a being vivo);  while in communication theory this concept is used as a number that measures the degree of uncertainty that a message possesses.

 

Entropy is zero when certainty is absolute, and will reach a maximum when the system approaches equilibrium. When the entropy is maximum in the universe, that is, there is an equilibrium between all temperatures and pressures, the thermal death of the universe will arrive. All the energy will be in the form of heat and energy transformations cannot take place.

“The order of a body can increase, but on condition that the amount of disorder around it increases by a greater amount. This is what happens to a living being. We could define life as an ordered system that can hold its own against the tendency to disorder, and that can reproduce itself. That is, it can form similar but independent ordered systems. The system must convert energy starting from an ordered form into disordered energy.  In this way the system can satisfy the requirement that the amount of disorder increases, while at the same time increasing the order in himself and in his offspring.”1

 

99% of the universe is plasma: a state of matter in which the particles do not attach to each other, but rather exist as individual objects. Plasma exists at extremely high temperatures, which is why atoms break and individual elementary particles are obtained that are free in space, this is plasma, the sun. Energy is really the only link that exists between the reality of nature and man. The energy of the universe is constant although it is subject to increasing dissipation and degradation because  tends  a  seeking to distribute itself in space of equilibrium and of the greatest possible stability, dispersion and probability. This gives rise to disorder, the greatest redistribution, chaos and maximum entropy.  Order and chaos feed back  and that unstable tension between them creates a hugely creative field. The enormous paradox that is created is exactly the starting point of this exhibition: for order to exist, disorder is necessary, as well as the concept that entropy is really a kind of progress towards destruction and this is precisely what happens in the course of life.

 

Many scientists of our time think that it is not true that we are marching towards something greater and more perfect, quite the contrary. “The material world passes from ordered states to an ever-increasing disorder, and the final state of the universe will be that of maximum disorder” 2 necessary condition de  everything that the human mind wants to understand190_cc7-81908 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_“A revolution must aspire to the destruction of the existing order, and it will only be successful if it manages to form its own order” 3

When the equilibrium state is reached, order is engendered because it represents the simplest configuration possible under the given conditions. This applies to both inorganic (crystal symmetries) and organic (flower) systems.

When physicists speak of "disorder" they mean that the isolated elements operate independently of each other, but entropy is not measured in sets of individual elements, what matters is the totality of those innumerable complexions that add up to build a global macro state. (Ex: the agitation of the molecules that make up a pool of water microscopically has nothing to do with the calm appearance of the pool seen with the naked eye. Entropy treats the global form and believes that a large aggregate of elements can have properties that are not it has a small sample of them and the fight for space and comfort results in elementary order.

 

The concept of order is interesting to man since "is a 

"We also cause the universe, its creation and its future destruction"

 

baudelaire