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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.
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Matter & Energy News
May 31, 2026
May 31, 2026 Scientists have developed a solar desalination system that turns seawater into drinking water without creating environmentally damaging brine. Special laser-textured metal panels use sunlight to evaporate water while automatically moving salt ...
May 31, 2026 Researchers have developed a compact quantum detector that makes terahertz radiation much easier to detect. A specially designed metasurface funnels incoming energy into tiny active regions, greatly strengthening the electrical signal produced. The ...
May 30, 2026 By stacking custom-designed silver nanoparticles like nanoscale LEGO bricks, scientists stabilized a mysterious crystal phase that had never been observed before. The material not only solves a longstanding puzzle in materials science but also ...
May 30, 2026 A new room-temperature quantum device uses twisted light to entangle photons and electrons, overcoming one of the biggest hurdles in quantum technology. The breakthrough could pave the way for ...
May 29, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a surprising new way to control superconductivity — the mysterious phenomenon where electricity flows with zero energy loss. By pairing twisted layers of graphene with a synthetic diamond material, researchers were able ...
May 27, 2026 Scientists at the University of Houston have shattered a long-standing superconductivity record, creating a material that can conduct electricity with zero resistance at the highest temperature ever achieved under normal pressure conditions. Their ...
May 26, 2026 A new AI-powered chip from UC Davis can analyze light and chemicals using a device tiny enough to fit almost anywhere. By combining smart silicon sensors with machine learning, it achieves lab-style ...
May 24, 2026 Scientists have directly watched angular momentum move through a crystal for the very first time — and discovered a bizarre twist along the way. Using ultra-powerful terahertz laser pulses, researchers triggered tiny atomic rotations inside a ...
May 23, 2026 A breakthrough lithium-extraction method could help solve one of clean energy’s dirtiest problems. Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a fast new technique that pulls lithium ...
May 22, 2026 Scientists in Germany have demonstrated a startling new form of surveillance: identifying people using nothing more than ordinary WiFi signals. By analyzing how radio waves bounce around a room, researchers can effectively “see” and recognize ...
May 22, 2026 Researchers have discovered how to fine-tune a futuristic type of porous glass that can trap gases like CO2 and hydrogen. Inspired by centuries-old glassmaking techniques, the team added sodium and ...
May 21, 2026 Scientists have finally figured out how mysterious “breather” laser pulses work, solving a puzzle that has frustrated laser physicists for years. These unusual ultrafast lasers produce light pulses that rhythmically grow and shrink instead of ...
Latest Headlines
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May 28, 2026 For more than a century, pianists and music teachers have argued over whether a performer’s touch can actually change the tone color of a piano note — and now scientists say the answer is yes. ...
May 26, 2026 Scientists working at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider may be seeing the strongest hints yet of physics beyond the Standard Model — the decades-old ...
May 26, 2026 Scientists used some of the most advanced plasma simulations ever created to uncover how the universe builds enormous magnetic fields out of turbulence. The discovery could reshape our understanding ...
May 24, 2026 A mysterious particle from deep space has scientists buzzing after the most energetic neutrino ever detected slammed through the Mediterranean Sea. ...
May 22, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a strange hidden structure formed during the creation of metallocenes, a class of sandwich-like molecules used in everything from catalysis to medicine. The newly ...
May 21, 2026 Physicists at Peking University have uncovered a new way to confine light far beyond conventional limits — without relying on metals and their ...
May 20, 2026 Researchers have built an ultra-sensitive sensor capable of detecting unimaginably small amounts of energy — below one zeptojoule. The breakthrough relies on fragile superconducting materials that ...
May 20, 2026 Scientists in Canada have discovered that ancient underground rocks are naturally producing hydrogen gas — and lots of it. Measurements from mine boreholes in Ontario show the gas can flow ...
May 20, 2026 Researchers have developed a light-driven method for creating tiny, high-energy “housane” molecules that are valuable for drug development and materials science. These compact ring-shaped ...
May 19, 2026 Scientists spent decades chasing signs of a mysterious new force hidden inside the muon, one of nature’s strangest particles. But after years of supercomputer calculations, researchers discovered ...