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Entropy

In thermodynamics, entropy is an extensive state function that accounts for the effects of irreversibility in thermodynamic systems, particularly in heat engines during an engine cycle.

While the concept of energy is central to the first law of thermodynamics, which deals with the conservation of energy, the concept of entropy is central to the second law of thermodynamics, which deals with physical processes and whether they occur spontaneously.

Spontaneous changes occur with an increase in entropy.

Entropy change has often been defined as a change to a more disordered state at a microscopic level.

In recent years, entropy has been interpreted in terms of the "dispersal" of energy.

For more information about the topic Entropy, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Note: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Entropy at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details.

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