The Most Misunderstood Concept in Physics

One of the most important, yet least understood, concepts in all of physics. Head to brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial, and the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
If you're looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms - a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically: snatoms.com
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A huge thank you to those who helped us understand different aspects of this complicated topic - Dr. Ashmeet Singh, Supriya Krishnamurthy, Dr. Jos Thijssen, Dr. Bijoy Bera, Dr. Timon Idema, Álvaro Bermejillo Seco and Dr. Misha Titov.
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References:
Carnot, S. (1824). Reflections on the motive power of heat: and on machines fitted to develop that power. - ve42.co/Carnot1890
Harnessing The True Power Of Atoms | Order And Disorder Documentaries, Spark via KZbin - ve42.co/OrderDisorder
A better description of entropy, Steve Mould via KZbin - ve42.co/Mould2016
Dugdale, J. S. (1996). Entropy and its physical meaning. CRC Press. - ve42.co/Dugdale1996
Schroeder, D. V. (1999). An introduction to thermal physics. - ve42.co/Schroeder2021
Fowler, M. Heat Engines: the Carnot Cycle, University of Virginia. - ve42.co/Fowler2023
Chandler, D.L. (2010). Explained: The Carnot Limit, MIT News - ve42.co/Chandler2010
Entropy, Wikipedia - ve42.co/EntropyWiki
Clausius, R. (1867). The mechanical theory of heat. Van Voorst. - ve42.co/Clausius1867
What is entropy? TED-Ed via KZbin - ve42.co/Phillips2017
Thijssen, J. (2018) Lecture Notes Statistical Physics, TU Delft.
Schneider, E. D., & Kay, J. J. (1994). Life as a manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics. Mathematical and computer modelling, 19(6-8), 25-48. - ve42.co/Schneider1994
Lineweaver, C. H., & Egan, C. A. (2008). Life, gravity and the second law of thermodynamics. Physics of Life Reviews, 5(4), 225-242. - ve42.co/Lineweaver2008
Michaelian, K. (2012). HESS Opinions" Biological catalysis of the hydrological cycle: life's thermodynamic function". Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 16(8), 2629-2645. - ve42.co/Michaelian2012
England, J. L. (2013). Statistical physics of self-replication. The Journal of chemical physics, 139(12), 09B623_1. - ve42.co/England2013
England, J. L. (2015). Dissipative adaptation in driven self-assembly. Nature nanotechnology, 10(11), 919-923. - ve42.co/England2015
Wolchover, N. (2014). A New Physics Theory of Life, Quantamagazine - ve42.co/Wolchover2014
Lineweaver, C. H. (2013). The entropy of the universe and the maximum entropy production principle. In Beyond the Second Law: Entropy Production and Non-equilibrium Systems (pp. 415-427). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. - ve42.co/LineweaverEntropy
Bekenstein, J.D. (1972). Black holes and the second law. Lett. Nuovo Cimento 4, 737-740. - ve42.co/Bekenstein1972
Carroll, S.M. (2022). The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion. Penguin Publishing Group. - ve42.co/Carroll2022
Black hole thermodynamics, Wikipedia - ve42.co/BlackHoleTD
Cosmology and the arrow of time: Sean Carroll at TEDxCaltech, TEDx Talks via KZbin - ve42.co/CarrollTEDx
Carroll, S. M. (2008). The cosmic origins of time’s arrow. Scientific American, 298(6), 48-57. - ve42.co/Carroll2008
The Passage of Time and the Meaning of Life | Sean Carroll (Talk + Q&A), Long Now Foundation via KZbin - ve42.co/CarrollLNF
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Special thanks to our Patreon supporters:
Emil Abu Milad, Tj Steyn, meg noah, Bernard McGee, KeyWestr, Amadeo Bee, TTST, Balkrishna Heroor, John H. Austin, Jr., john kiehl, Anton Ragin, Diffbot, Gnare, Dave Kircher, Burt Humburg, Blake Byers, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Bill Linder, Paul Peijzel, Josh Hibschman, Mac Malkawi, Juan Benet, Ubiquity Ventures, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Stephen Wilcox, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Michael Krugman, Sam Lutfi.
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Written by Casper Mebius, Derek Muller & Petr Lebedev
Edited by Trenton Oliver & Jamie MacLeod
Animated by Mike Radjabov, Ivy Tello, Fabio Albertelli and Jakub Misiek
Filmed by Derek Muller, Albert Leung & Raquel Nuno
Molecular collisions video by CSIRO's Data61 via KZbin: Simulation of air
Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Pond5 and by courtesy of NASA, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Goddard Flight Lab/ CI Lab, NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, HMI, and WMAP science teams. As well as the Advanced Visualization Laboratory at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, B. Robertson, L. Hernquist
Music from Epidemic Sound & Jonny Hyman
Produced by Derek Muller, Petr Lebedev, Emily Zhang, & Casper Mebius

[@ketchup2707]

For those of you that haven’t taken a thermodynamics course yet, I don’t think you realize how incredibly helpful this video is lol

[@tusharkuntawar6170]

I feel ya

[@thegamesforreal1673]

For real, I wish I'd had this video like 5-6 years ago during my bachelors!

[@tillthiemann6448]

@@thegamesforreal1673 same

[@zaphodbeeblebrox8382]

Definitely. I highly recommend this video to any chemical or mechanical engineer.

[@chenmatt4467]

For real

[@SteveMould]

The thing about one photon from the sun turning into several spreading out in all directions answered a long standing question for me - how to explain the way the sun “powers” life on earth in terms of entropy. Thanks!

[@iseriver3982]

No one taught you about photosynthesis?

[@TheDestineyAngel]

If watching a Veritasium video leads to me watching a SteveMould video with black holes instead of another Veritasium video with black holes; could that be considered a Spool Paradox or another example of a big photon converting into many small photons? Jokes aside, I love your videos and I lm glad you left a comment.

[@wantstocomment7092]

It's just life radiation bro.

[@garrysekelli6776]

One photon cannot turn into several photons. İmo.

[@NikhilPratapSinghBHP]

​@@garrysekelli6776why not? If a high energy photon is absorbed, cant it can be later emitted in different levels? In a way that all the photons' energy when aaded up will be equal to the original high energy photon

[@0biwan7]

the three laws of thermodynamics: 1. you can't win 2. you can't break even 3. you can't stop playing the game

[@thesunnyroad]

A black hole entered the chat 😅

[@Blackpeopleslayer]

Wait wht u mean bruh??

[@PlanetHertz]

@@Blackpeopleslayer Username???

[@Blackpeopleslayer]

@@PlanetHertz is it bad🥺??

[@PlanetHertz]

@@Blackpeopleslayer its so lovely, I don't think nothing can compare. A rose? 🌹

[@timallen6025]

My brain hurts . But in an expansive way

[@johnleandrepermison7175]

Me too dudes… That headache is actually diff. to a normal headache… It hits different hahahaha

[@jeff_forsythe]

in most cases, pain is healing, not to be feared.

[@SupratimBhowmick]

I was a student of physics. Today at the age of 57 I understood what entropy actually means. Thank you.

[@itzz]

Indian education system which is destroying all young youths😢

[@elrohifilmon2291]

Why did we integrate the work done by the piston and on the piston ( 6:54 ) . Is it applying the second law of thermodynamics(entrophy) meaning which formula? Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm just curious!

[@astro18965]

@@elrohifilmon2291 It is using the formula for work= force x displacement since the amount of work done on the piston is almost equal to the amount of heat produced due to work being high-grade energy.

[@elrohifilmon2291]

@@astro18965 Okay thank you for your explanation It really helped!!! I think i should go look into my advanced physics studies I'm lingering in the past in grade 9 -10 physics , tho i really hate the idea of integration, just the concept behind definite integrals, area, volume etc.... Overall thank you very much.

[@Toni_560]

You were a student but it seems your failed to pass. It's fundamentally taught, wtf.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I told my brother that if he applied to be one of your physics writers that he should tell you that I miss your street interview videos. Looks like you already had my wish on your radar!

[@TechSquidTV]

I really miss those too

[@cuthbertallgood7781]

No offense to anyone who likes them, but I was actually thinking that they're just a waste of time. Like, I'm curious what Veritasium has to say on the subject, so what's interesting about what random people think about it? They don't really contribute anything to the video.

[@beatbox9794]

​@@cuthbertallgood7781hm.

[@henil0604]

@@cuthbertallgood7781 those short public interviews arises common misconception in viewer's mind, which is extremely important when it comes to learning via media.

[@TechSquidTV]

@@cuthbertallgood7781 no that's fair, but I do like seeing what "normal" people think. It's a good refresher into what the average person believes or thinks.

[@serenarose54]

15:47 to 16:27 . That has to be one of the best cinematography I've ever seen. The narration, the visuals and the background music especially. Best build up to reveal the Star of the talk (quite literally)

[@KTRYT_]

so true i am in my last year of highschool and understood entropy for the first time and it felt like an movie

[@zanejawad3017]

If you thought the cinematography was really good here I'd watch Interstellar if you haven't already, easily the best depiction of the universe I have ever seen

[@maximegorsse6627]

I watched this video like 20 times now and it still gives me goosebumps every times

[@geneballay9590]

What a fantastic, informative and interesting video. My PhD in theoretical physics dates to 1976 and this video has to be one of the most thought-provoking discussions on entropy that I have ever seen or read. Thank you for sharing.

[@gravityfreaksmusic]

Lemme piggyback on this, sans the PhD. 😂 The video gives me a pointer towards getting a grip on a subject that was very foreign until now. Thank you!

[@jeff_forsythe]

It is karma that keeps us on the ground, not gravity, but who cares about wisdom these days................................Falun Dafa

[@TimeBucks]

This has to be one of the best Veritasium episodes.

[@BHUBANSINHA]

Good

[@vast634]

I think he got the idea to make a video about Entropy from the recent video by Sabine Hossenfelder, who covered the same topic.

[@tariqtech5078]

Nope. I disagree on one part. Life support conversion from low entropy to high entropy???? This is where Derek is MISTAKEN. I bet he, like many other atheists, is a core believer in Evolution (humans coming from apes, etc). While I like many of his videos, he tends to be biased towards atheism. Even in Science, religion plays a huge role. Just training one AI neural network model for computer vision requires extensive amount of computation and energy. Not to mention all the data that needed to be extract and transformed. Statistically speaking, odds are absolutely 0% chance that Humans came into existence based on such theories. If I brought you a digital camera and told him I just found it on planet Y and claimed no one made it, scientists will start laughing. Plus, why did it have to be a biological life on Earth??? why not some sort of mechanical/electrical form of life????? TALK ABOUT HYPOCRISY AT ITS FINEST!!!!!!!

[@cheesebusiness]

You just advertise yourself

[@tariqtech5078]

@@cheesebusiness Well show me Einstein where the flaw of my logic is 🧐

[@sharmavts111]

"What the sun gives us, is a steady stream of low entropy", is the best example for entropy. Thank you for making science more approachable, Derek!

[@sharmavts111]

@@kwokshseeBy energy, he meant pockets of energy inside those said particles within a system are clumped which means having less freedom to spread out, essentially meaning higher freedom, he used liberal language for more people to understand, if you're so knowledgeable, make a video explaining what's wrong! This reply makes you look dumb.

[@Chloe-jh3eh]

i have a black bf

[@MrCmon113]

What's a "stream" of entropy? Would that work if the sun was all around rather than in one direction?

[@sharmavts111]

@@MrCmon113 A stream of low entropy just basically means "high energy clumped together or fundamental particles with less freedom of movement", which then we spread out increasing our entropy. The entropy of the sun increases as we receive energy!

[@danielk301]

​@@kwokshseeLmao

[@kaptainkobb1920]

I am not being hyperbolic here... I am 10 minutes into this video and it is already more useful than my entire undergraduate thermodynamics class. Thank you for making this all make sense 5 years later.

[@jurekkonarski9991]

One thing is to know things, the other is to be able to talk about them with passion, spreading out to listeners. You really make great use of the energy you are given :)

[@samwilson3329]

I love the casual flex. "I'm a PHD physicist." 😂 Very justified. Thanks Derek!

[@zemsorg]

he’s for sure a good science communicator, but doesn’t actually have a physics phd. If he really had one he wouldn’t need to flex about it.

[@michaelfrederick7964]

​@zemsorg you should do research before you say things you are uninformed about.

[@samwilson3329]

@@zemsorg He actually does have a PhD from the University of Sydney in Physics Education. The point is, anyone who actually worked hard enough to get a PhD should be completely justified in bragging about it.

[@lagrangiankid378]

​@@zemsorgI don't think he even wanted to flex, it was more about proving to the old lady that he knew what he was talking about.

[@shenanigans4177]

​@@samwilson3329 Well PhD in Physics education and PhD in physics are two very very different things. But it doesn't require a PhD to understand the basic physics and few fundamental laws of the universe. Also it's not guaranteed that people who actually have PhD in physics understand it better than people who don't.

[@nakulsprakash1640]

I'm a chemical engineer, and I always hated the way they defined Entropy to us in textbooks or how teachers would explain it to us. They say Entropy is disorder or randomness which never really tells you what it is. I never completely understood the concept but watching this now after all those years it looks like yes it was so obvious, it is disorder now I get it why it is defined asdisorder.

[@corpuzbuenafredaa.3492]

I agree!

[@charles7747]

OMG. THIS. YES. Especially the bit about the complexity at the end. That really made the light bulb go off.

[@preetamraj4713]

Bro jee aspirant?

[@Chloe-jh3eh]

i have a black bf

[@nakulsprakash1640]

@@preetamraj4713 Nah bro completed my grad 2 years ago working in oil and gas now.

[@travisripwell3339]

I don’t usually comment on KZbin videos, actually I don’t leave comments at all, but this series is probably the best thing out right now. Thank you for empowering and inspiring me with this fantastic channel.

[@coolkid7151]

No one cares that you don’t leave comments just say what you’re gonna say

[@Peter-vq1iv]

I dont usually comment also, stil this guy shows that he is more showman than scientist. 24:31 "More than 10 to the 100 years from now," you can surly say more than from next satuday to next monday. :/ if he is PHD Scientist, should realy know scale of time he talks about.

[@Peter-vq1iv]

@@coolkid7151 I care that he dont leave, no you go cry to your moma.

[@snoisnemidenin]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@Peter-vq1iv”10 to the 100 years” isn’t the same as “next Saturday to next Monday”. It’s not even a range, it’s a specific number… 10^100 years.

[@hisham5702]

@@Peter-vq1iv Maybe don't jump to conclusions, he said 100 as the power of 10 not 10-100 years.

[@chrismuratore4451]

The feeling of realizing the idea before its actually clarified, only to be validated a few moments later is irreplaceable. It amazes me that this kind of information doesn't give everyone the goosebumps.

[@guywilson3828]

i was hypothesizing entropy last night during a talk with my mom and i didn't even know what entropy was. just a good ol conversation about energy. made this video extra incredible.

[@findzy4419]

yeah dude mental, did this with the big bang theory and thought I was a genius at 21 hahah, then i googled the next day. I'm now 34, never forget the night i figured out the universe based on a simple thought process of - everything is round

[@tomasratislav9306]

it does

[@twofishes8846]

About 5 years ago discoved this show. At 69 years old your show now sends me daily down that wonderful rabbit hole... the world wide web gushing with information. I feel like I finally rediscovered the wonder and excitement of a being alive! And ready and armed to discover the unknown with childlike wonder... Thank you all for making life an incredible adventure... again!

[@cj6004]

Remember, no one can ever be too old to learn and experience!

[@twofishes8846]

@@cj6004 Amen to that friend!

[@cj6004]

@@twofishes8846 💖✨ cheers to knowledge

[@alexgeo2615]

Is it scary to be 69 and figure out a new passion? Do you feel like you might miss out on new discoveries or maybe not have the time to learn as much as you want? I am 21 and i am already worried about living in a time where I will probably miss out on many discoveries and on many radical societal changes. What's your philoshopy on this?

[@LinearConvolution]

@@alexgeo2615 we live at a very fortunate moment in time, where many exciting discoveries are currently happening, and many essential developments have already been made that make our quality of life excellent. Every time period will have its challenges and its frontiers to explore. My perspective is, don't worry about what you might miss out, go dive in and enjoy what there is. There are an inexhaustible number of exciting and world-improving things we can work on, passions we can enjoy, etc. Make the most of the time you have, that will minimize regret.

[@zsmith200]

I did my PhD in biophysics and I love that you mentioned life when talking about entropy. This always confuses people until they realize you’re not a closed system

[@wwlittlejOfficial]

Im no student, just a hobbyist interested in all things science, but damn the whole shine a light on random atoms and getting life was mind-blowing for me. THIS is the argument I wish more OoL scientists explained. Abiogenisis in a quote.

[@bomination.]

the earth DOES take in more energy than it radiates. the core of the earth absorbs radiation from the sun and the core grows.... expanding earth etc. the largest dinosaurs could only have survived on a smaller earth with less gravity... fact.

[@pranav5788]

Lol

[@youcefmoulla1828]

@@wwlittlejOfficial That's quote was the stupidest thing I ever heard In science

[@wwlittlejOfficial]

@@youcefmoulla1828 because ur not doing it right, science.

[@biggusbroncus5413]

As a current Chemical Engineering student, it helps me a lot in understand this concept about entropy, because currently I'm taking Thermodynamics and Carnot Cycle is one of the foundations of understanding the relationships between them.

[@spidey5281]

that was so beautiful im in awe- the way you connected all these people and concepts i just im in awe. so glad you do the things you do

[@jacobcannon1493]

The effort to put this presentation together and for millions to view has used energy very effectively. Please spread out more heat like this over time.

[@natgazer]

That was good

[@ajaypatil047]

good one

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

I'm glad to exist at a pocket of the universe that has exactly the right amount of entropy for a Veritasium video to exist.

[@TheiPodMac1234]

Best answer 😝

[@lifeunderthemic]

Propaganda can have that effect.🤫

[@emilydelano555]

This has to be one of the best Veritasium episodes. I got goose bumps because of the beauty of the explanation. Science is so awe inspiring.

[@marcelboersma]

Amen to that. I came here to say exactly that! To the letter.

[@DipanGhosh]

@@marcelboersma Yeah me too. Same thoughts. One of the best, definitely.

[@jhayes0128]

Yeah who need religion when truth is stranger than fiction

[@irfanleorezaharoen6083]

@@jhayes0128 because science cant explain what caused the universe or big bang happened?

[@danielrodrigues4903]

The video itself was beautiful indeed, the music helped a lot too. Nearly teared up a couple of times.

[@rainbowbag4214]

These kinds of videos prove to me how beautiful physics is and that is what gets me going on the most difficult days (in my studies). Its so weird that a great physicist like you exists around the same time that I do, and I get to enjoy all your mind blowing videos.. It is incredible indeed how beautiful and flawlessly yet so mysteriously the universe works.. Inspires me to learn more and more about these things.

[@JeeAspirantAIR1]

This is quite possibly THE most BEAUTIFUL video I've ever seen. I always felt like I hadn't understood entropy, and this video explained it in such a way that I could understand and visualize. Thank you so much.

[@amartyakejora5451]

I really appreciate how the street segment of this isn't just shots of people who've been asked a complicated question and looking confused. It's been such a disease in mainly digital platform interviews for a long time. Pointless humiliation to make you feel like you've somehow legitimized what your video has to say by way of making people look stupid for not having intricate understanding of fields they don't study/work in. You're actually having an engaging discussion with them and matching their energy. It's stimulating and the insight is friendly. It's such a small part of the video yet is a powerful opening, pushing collective thinking and proper lighthearted discussion that stokes curiosity. Good on you.

[@kateh280]

Agreed! Also Veritasium getting back to his roots of interviewing people on the street :) love it

[@justaguy3538]

Also can't miss the way he integrated the interviews into the video making it more diverse and relatable, brilliant

[@vojtechjaros7391]

I agree as well, plus I might know the answer, but if someone asked me out of the blue on the street, I would not be able to give it.

[@FutilityOfReason]

Veritasium: Im a PhD physicist Old lady clearly confused: Oh ok carry on 🫡

[@jamesparkinson3199]

😊

[@shanmaxx5]

16:20 the introduction of the sun did not need to go that hard. I almost got goosebumps, lol. This was a beautifully done video and loved every second.

[@shill1444]

That is quite LITERALLY what I was thinking. I know next to nothing about physics and after watching this video I felt my IQ jump up about 100 points. LOL

[@human_thing.]

lol me to

[@uz.f1746]

It's THAT important though... that's why he went that hard imo...

[@ungalohoganga]

The sun is a wondrous body. Like a magnificent father! If only I could be so grossly incandescent!

[@TheEquationEnigmaBYJEETU]

Soo true

[@myriadshalaks]

this is your best video. I can't pinpoint why. maybe the pacing and the way you cut back to the interviews in a shorter but tighter way than u have in the past. anyway, the in the middle part got me. just wow.

[@The_Indominus_]

The Best KZbin Video I've ever seen, and explaining these complex concepts so easily yet with each and every detail is just Fabulous, the way you explained from History, to engines till the whole universe is just Astounding Hats off to you!! @Veriatasium

[@joranwind8804]

I just had a Thermodynamics course in university. I must say, you explained about 2 lectures worth of information in 7 minutes, and you used the rest of the time to make thermodynamics from an engineers nightmare to a scientists interest. Well done!

[@charlesreid9337]

imho this is his strength. Making mathematical/theoretical science relateable

[@nick.raptis]

Brilliant what you can grasp when your profs aren't just trying to force equations in your mind ❤

[@GeneralKenobi69420]

And then you still have people like my boomer dad who won't even take a look at anything on KZbin because "Internet bad" but will happily watch TV all day long lol

[@somedude6161]

I've been there and know what you mean. Courses would have been so much easier -- and FUN -- if our courses were taught by people like Derek, Tom Hanks, Matt O'Dowd, Joe Hanson, and the like.

[@wesleyhempoli5548]

ehh how did he make it less of a nightmare for engineers? this whole comment is absurd

[@lilmisslizzyc]

When I was like 9 or 10, I had this little series of books that basically explained different science concepts in a kid-friendly way and after reading the physics one, I kept telling my mom my room was always messy because of entropy 😭😭 edit: for anyone interested in the books, they’re from the Basher Science series!

[@whoreslayer]

that's cute

[@VeeHaron]

I know right🥲@@whoreslayer

[@wildhunt2463]

haha, I tried this but got beaten up

[@paliyander]

i always said it was a creative mess xD

[@Phymacss]

By any chance, do you still have the names of the books? I would be interested in reading them.

[@chinoleemil8392]

The parallel you drew there with the arrow of time was quite surprising and truly fascinating! Great videos, as always!

[@kubrickguy]

Love your video. The easiest way to understand complexity. Brilliant. Thank you 🙏

[@SuperVITHURSHAN]

This is one of the moments when I felt that the like button is not enough to appreciate his work. Thanks.

[@dudo626]

donate 😉

[@PaulWebsterLincoln]

click the three dots and hit a super chat ;) (thanks)

[@masudsaleh5155]

​@@dudo626 🤣 😅😊

[@navidghanadan4388]

@@PaulWebsterLincolnuumu

[@likevin145]

Derek's ability to break down ideas of this level of complexity and explain them in a way that almost everyone can understand and appreciate is exactly what we need more in the world. It's education at it's finest. I applaud you.

[@runtimeterror1358]

Yes Exactly... I have a question though... if we assume the world to go on for an infinite amount of seconds... at a certain point everything can suddenly do the improbable thing and go towards low entropy right? Based on what Boltzmann said, going toward lower entropy is extremely improbable, but if time goes on for infinity, every improbable thing will happen once... so after the heat death of the Universe, there will come a time when the big bang appears again...

[@abcdefggg5658]

This comment 💯

[@kevinedwards7079]

Try einstein 6yr old and explain it as such

[@jyotishmankalita.1754]

​​​@@runtimeterror1358you're right! At a certain point few things can suddenly do the improbable things which was least likely, but there's a larger basket what happening around. "If after heat death, all the least probable things will happen then it's also true to say all the most probable things will also happen" So in a way the the whole scnerio remains same... And after heat death there'll be nothing that will happen.

[@Krish-10]

​@@runtimeterror1358Very interesting comment!! After heat death, there'll be no concept of time I guess. Think about it, no entropy, no cause/effect, absolute zero temperature & no particle moves, no space-time curvature, no concept of time, nothing!!!!

[@user-bx7cf5hq5k]

While taking my thermodynamics course, i was sure i’m getting something in my head but all of those datas were so not useful. I just have to say that this video made the whole idea of entropy as mush clear as possible for my level. Thank you so much for this amazing work!!!

[@joeyraggs]

Very happy I discovered your channel. Perfect mix of science and history.

[@Walthanar]

I am a physicist and so I already knew almost all the info in this video (except for some details on the ratio of photons to and from the earth, and I'm not strong on the Hawking radiation) but nonetheless I found this video EXHILARATING. Your way to travel from a question to an explanation is poetic and a true form of art. I love everything you do. And the imagery and the choice of music were the coronation of it all, so congratulations to the editing team as well. Forever one of the best channels in the whole tube.

[@deltalima6703]

Its not bad, the handwaving was blended in nicely. Hardly notice it if you dont already know its coming, like a magic trick.

[@Wexexx]

Yea, same here. Knew all the details pretty much, but damn. He's making pure art of videos. I am always perplexed by his absolute genius ways of making videos.

[@Thetarget1]

Me too. The way he explains a semester of physics in layman´s terms, while still being rigorous and interesting for an expert, is just extremely impressive. He is just such an inspiring science communicator.

[@litraz87]

100% - amazing to listen to. The best so far

[@starshipsn-9513]

@@deltalima6703 handwaving?

[@vigneshv5231]

The analogy with the tea at the end is mind blowing for me. As an engineering student I knew that entropy caused the milk and tea to mix so spectacularly, but I never related it with our lives being in this spectacular state before heat death eventually happens. It takes the perfect knowledge and some beautiful articulation to explain such things!!! What a video!!!

[@Dadofer1970]

It is also an absolutely perfect and instantaneous refutation of the old creationist argument that the emergence of life by natural selection supposedly violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

[@ivanstroganov5458]

Interestingly this is the exact same example Sabine Hossenfelder used in her video about entropy 2 weeks ago. Overall the 2 videos are very similar 🤷‍♂️

[@iankrasnow5383]

I also learned a lot about entropy as a materials science student. A key piece that's been left out is that some entropy generating processes are fundamentally not reversible, and so they can't be used to generate work. Mixing milk and tea is a good example. When you mix milk and tea, the entropy increases quite a bit. However, it doesn't release heat, and you can't use the mixing of tea and milk to do work. If you wanted to separate the milk and tea however, you would need to do quite a bit of work. The point is a lot of entropy is being produced all the time even without the ability to do work. For me, the relevance is in creating alloys, and in refining ores or recycling metals. It takes a lot of chemical and heat energy to separate elements into pure forms. Then you combine them together in mixtures with various properties, but you don't get any of that energy back.

[@dougclendening5896]

I wonder what the next universe is going to be like. Physics is interesting but can only play by the rules of this current reality.

[@justink2101]

​@@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist9Amen 🙏

[@jacalynwaymer]

As someone who take a thermal Dynamics class, I can tell you this video has extremely enriched my understanding of entropy. I always thought that entropy was just the wasted energy of a system, for example, an engine or turbine. Now I understand that entropy is so much more than that.

[@ninasanai28]

I love how neat and low entropy your work desk is😊

[@nyer070]

PhD physicist and engineer here. This brought an incredibly enlightening perspective for me. I must say, the concept of entropy is not a simple one... Many physicist, also as mentioned in the video, battle to fully understand the concept. This brought it all together for me. I'm having a rough night just deeply thinking about entropy because the concept is far more elegant than i ever imagined it. Thank you for this insanely amazing work.

[@mihaiserbu8447]

Hello. Keep thinking about. I am a doctor, and from many years ago ,the entropy discovery change my life and the perspective on human beeing, their reaction, the cause of boring, cause of the war, cause of love, cause of friendship, cause of happiness. Everything relates with entropy. Even why we sleep, the way substantia nigra in our brains work is a entropy function machine.

[@aryantyagi4915]

Hello good sir, you mention being a physicist and an engineer, may I ask the academic roadmap you took for that? As in what degrees did you get?

[@Entropic_Alloy]

My favorite "joke" that my PhD advisor told me was, "Even thermodynamic professors don't understand entropy." It is one of those things that people like to sum up with, "chaos" but that doesn't really relay the idea well when it comes to what energy is doing and why we use certain terms in the equations.

[@beasty007]

I asked chatgpt about this same thing and it's surprising that it's almost the same as this video 😮 Prompt- Try to relate entropy with the sun, earth and universe, if possible include philosophy also. Ans- In the context of the sun, earth, and the universe, we can explore the concept of entropy from different perspectives, including scientific and philosophical aspects. From a scientific standpoint, entropy plays a role in understanding the natural processes and evolution of systems. The sun is a massive source of energy that radiates heat and light into space. This energy flows from a high-energy state (the sun) to a lower-energy state (the surroundings). As this energy disperses and spreads out, it leads to an increase in entropy. On Earth, entropy is related to the concept of thermodynamic equilibrium. Over time, energy and matter tend to spread out, seeking a state of equilibrium or balance. For example, consider the water cycle, where water evaporates from the surface, condenses into clouds, and eventually precipitates back to the surface. This cyclic process involves the transfer and transformation of energy, but it also leads to an increase in entropy as energy is dissipated and distributed. In the broader context of the universe, the concept of entropy is linked to the idea of the arrow of time and the second law of thermodynamics. The second law states that in a closed system, the entropy tends to increase over time, meaning that disorder or randomness tends to prevail. This idea is often associated with the observation that systems naturally evolve from states of low entropy (high organization) to states of high entropy (disorder). From a philosophical perspective, entropy can be seen as a metaphor for the nature of existence and the impermanence of order. It aligns with the philosophical concept of change, decay, and the fleeting nature of things. The increase of entropy symbolizes the inevitability of the passage of time, the dissolution of structure, and the constant transformation of the universe. In summary, entropy is a fundamental concept that relates to the flow of energy, the tendency of systems to move towards equilibrium, and the increase of disorder or randomness over time. It has scientific implications in understanding natural processes and is intertwined with philosophical ideas about the nature of existence and the passage of time.

[@yjas8904]

@@Entropic_Alloy lol yeah I think they don't really know 😂. wish this video available when I was a student. but it's never too late because it can be useful in my current work also

[@stefanoscacco459]

This video literally summed up my last four years worth of lecture courses. It's like seeing your academic life flashing before your eyes, but with better animation.

[@lomax4992]

And for free

[@smlanka4u]

Black Holes grow even without eating ordinary matter. Therefore, gravitational forces can reverse entropy after reducing the amount of Dark Matter.

[@notyouraveragegoldenpotato]

That's how I feel when my s.o. talks to me about anything. At the end of being talked at nonstop for several minutes, I can clearly, completely and accurately sum the entire talk up into 1 sentence. Don't waste time. Most precious resource in existence to us. Just jump to the point😂

[@zjpdarkblaze]

i hope he didnt say entropy every time he talks about entropy. it always confuses me everytime the word high and low entropy is mentioned. he should have used "spread of energy is low/high" or something.

[@nisbahmumtaz909]

@@zjpdarkblaze It was necessary for him to use that term, since everything is framed in terms of 'states'. An earlier state of time = low entropy; later = high entropy. Spread of energy is just more words to say same thing.

[@seanbordenkircher7854]

Those interviews were fantastic, edited well and candid.

[@chewasa6458]

love this host - perfect pace/no condescension

[@Mark-sl4bw]

My professor for gen chem 1 and 2 taught us to think of entropy in this way. Reading the comments of others about how they were never taught to think of entropy like this, I'm once again reminded of how wonderful of a professor he was.

[@rueben225]

I had a science teacher back in grade school that set me up to think about things one step outside of what we immediately observe and I have treasured his insight my whole life.

[@512TheWolf512]

This is standard interpretation of entropy here. I personally was taught in Kyiv polytechnic. But it's the same country -wide.

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

@@rueben225 That teacher made you smarter for sure. I always try to think "outside the box" and reason things from first principles.

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

@@512TheWolf512 Western education is likely less standardized, not coming from a Soviet style command structure/more rigid/traditional culture.

[@fisty539]

I had a teacher called Dr Ollerenshaw in the UK. He was the most silly person I've ever met! He had "fun tie fridays" and "two tie tuesdays" that he'd normally wear one around his head 😆. My fave teacher hands down

[@tomaskujinek]

It is incredible how you can explain complex topic in 20 minutes that everyone grab a basic concept of it. Love it. Keep it going.

[@agustinfranco0]

@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist8 yeah yeah whatever...

[@viyacheslav.]

Question. What if we take a small black hole (let the temperature be T=50000 Kelvin - the radiation of photons with low entropy) and we send particles or photons with high entropy into this hole. It turns out that the black hole will absorb high entropy and radiate low. In other words, the energy from the cold will go to the hot?

[@criticalthinker420]

@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist8 His name was not Jesus. Your church couldn't even not lie about his name. Your church doesn't care about the truth, they only care about if you believe in what they want you to believe in. They don't even believe in it themselves. Most pick and choose to believe in the things they want, and just ignore the rest. You can even ask one christian something, then another, and then another and you will get three different answers but they all swear their answer is "the" truth.

[@drenz1523]

​@@criticalthinker420okay christian "missionary" comments are annoying but this is straight up religious discrimination and is not right.

[@SoorajSuseelan10001]

​@@drenz1523 calling out Religions is correct. End the stupidity

[@vasilislemon7842]

Your best educational video so far! Absolutely stunning❤

[@matthewpepper902]

Wow thanks for breaking down entropy in a really consumable way for me. That helped me really understand why their is a direction in the flow of time

[@tonnymathew3301]

The part where Hawking attempts to disprove Bekenstein but eventually ends up proving his theory leading to one of the best discoveries in Physics will always be a jaw dropping story for me! This is exactly why I took a degree in physics!

[@sander_bouwhuis]

This is why science works. It has the power to correct and change with new insights.

[@whannabi]

​@@sander_bouwhuismath

[@thijsmuilwijk8517]

Hawking's jaw dropped too💀 (I'm sorry for this awful joke)

[@LucarioredLR]

"Oh dang, guess he was right"

[@egggames8059]

Happens ridiculously frequently

[@tommymarshall69]

Derek is an international treasure. This is what it looks like when a really smart person goes into teaching.

[@calamorta]

I disagree. You have thousands of "really smart people" who just don't teach that well despite choosing this path. Geniuses even. He's special when it comes to these videos.

[@dennisklopper1818]

No human is smart, otherwise we would live in a perfect world...look at the mess, past, present and if God does not intervene the future is unimaginable. Only God is smart, agree ? Believe the ONLY gospel that saves today which is 1 Cor15 vs1-4 KJV Bible.

[@hilbillie]

There are plenty brilliant men that can't teach. This is what happens when a talented teacher, along with a team of solid, educated and talented group of support staff create an educational video (with endless hours of time put into the project) .... this is teamwork, talents and time. No university professor could compare in a lecture. Impossible.

[@hilbillie]

​@@calamorta He and his entire support staff. This isn't a one man operational and took a lot of time and effort.

[@nomennescio7571]

​@@dennisklopper1818Well, you're the one who's definitely not smart if you believe that nonsense 😅

[@mwilliamson8072]

Fabulously clear and understandable explanation of entropy. Thanks!

[@christosfountas3937]

Incredible work - this steals your attention for all the right reasons. Thank you so much!

[@bhanusM99]

I still remember my first lecture on thermodynamics during my masters. My professor asked us do we know what entropy means, everyone said yes. He replied what you learned is wrong forget about it and started explaining about entropy for 30mins. In the end we understood that we really misunderstood what entropy is in our undergrad

[@bonkmeabeab3563]

entropy is when everything tends toward death and destruction grr 😡😡

[@matthewcarter919]

Stephan doesn't get enough credit

[@sksarkar18]

. v!😅.

[@mahajveemahajvee8941]

​@@bonkmeabeab3563 Degree of randomness

[@Vicinfi]

now tell us 😁

[@U.Inferno]

Fun fact with the rubiks cube metaphor: it eventually bottoms out on how unsolved a cube can be because the maximum distance a state can be from the solution is 20 moves. So once you reach 20, any move you make either maintains or decreases that number.

[@Tony-il8ly]

What if you smash the cube?

[@Cd5ssmffan]

@@Tony-il8ly 🤓

[@XtreeM_FaiL]

What happens to the entropy if you solve to cube by removing the stickers? :P

[@Wulthrin]

@@XtreeM_FaiL the cube owner becomes quite angry so the entropy moves there

[@skasev]

So my life peaked at age 20? That’s deep

[@oddpoxia]

Amazingly formatted video, love it!

[@fityes1]

Absolutely amazing description how entropy works!!!

[@nickmoore9843]

“Let’s make use of the low entropy we’ve got, while we can.” 👏👏👏 Great line.

[@francescosulli7575]

I am a young physics student at the University of Trieste, Italy. This video made me emotional, thinking about concepts like this explained in this way makes me shiver. Truly congratulations, it's thanks to videos like these that people get passionate about physics

[@EL.DON.CORLEONE]

dude ... why you so low entropy?

[@NLghost010]

man i loved visiting trieste a couple weeks ago but i hated how much car traffic there is. Food was great though!

[@nicklipinski4081]

I’m only only a formally uneducated intern at a mechanical engineering company and this video made me emotional. I should really take a thermodynamics class or something.

[@francescosulli7575]

@@NLghost010 you must be crazy to drive in Trieste ahaha

[@arasdb9032]

io mi emoziono a vedere un italiano sotto questo video...e pure intelligente (ti invidio)

[@haraprasannatripathy977]

It's really a beautiful explanation for entropy. Thank you.

[@rdjualo]

watching this after my long exam in thermodynamics gives me an excellent insight of what I really studied, thank you for this video!

[@lucas_k23]

I've been studying aerospace engineering now for 2.5 years and when I say that this channel is an absolute blessing, probably all STEM students here would agree. The way you can not just explain a certain topic, but - much more importantly - kind of contextualise and explain how the topic integrates into the bigger picture of how the world works in a more general fashion makes this channel an essential tool for us. This video was probably the best example. By far. Funnily enough, I'm writing the thermodynamics exam in about two months. All the names you mentioned rung a bell immediately. Before the video, I knew what entropy was in the sense of "state of disorder" and how it's used in formulas, but after this video, I get the sense that I'm starting to internalise and being able to handle the topic. This video didn't teach me more about thermodynamics, instead it taught me about how everything outside of thermodynamics is affected and intertwined with thermodynamics. For me, I see it this way: at university, nature is divided into subjects and this channel undoes those divisions, brings those subjects together and "reintegrates" them into nature. So please never stop making these videos, because this channel fulfills an important function for many of us.

[@sivaranjani7432]

My dream is become a aero space engineer . Now I am studying final year high secondary.. can you explain about the importance aerospace engineering like about work what we actually do it and we studied about the universe and space or not and what are subject covered in aerospace engineering.. please 😊

[@zarlus8]

I've said for years now, that the way we teach science (US); splitting them into different subjects, does our understanding of the principles a disservice. Sure, it's easy to understand subjects when compartmentalized, but it doesn't allow for lateral and connective understanding of all scientific subjects.

[@yogeshpatel2018]

Exactly @lucaskytl, I got the same feeling when I watched the video about mandelbraught set

[@stevevanscoik398]

Like I said, he makes learning easy.

[@tonyb1968]

I'm just a truck driver. But with this knowledge I shall be a truck driver with a bit more knowledge

[@jakelangevin301]

As a chemical engineer who has done massive amounts of thermodynamics, kinetics, and fluid dynamics this my friend is the best explanation of everything. You taught me things in an easier sense and you brought in all my favs from the boltzman constant to Carnot heat engine. Thanks:)

[@jktrader37]

This was totally incredible !! Thank you for this remarkable and brilliant video !

[@ryeofthebeholder]

I think I knew most if not all of this before, but this video is the first time I really put it together that they're all the same thing, entropy. Diffusion of molecules within cells, heat transferring, pretty much everything. It's so interesting.

[@amadeousdervisi75]

It's one of the best explanations of entropy for people who don't have a physics background, with many philosophical notes.

[@vincentdavis3453]

Not necessarily true. The best way to explain entropic systems is in the form of clocks, watches, and wind-up toys that run down and stop when the energy in their spring or their battery is spent. That's the effect of entropy. 😊

[@jedcasillas5171]

well even at the beginning he's already using symbols used in calculus and what not. You do have to have some background, at least from high school.

[@Tystolfo]

@@jedcasillas5171 I disagree, I'm dumb as bricks and I still came away more or less understanding what Entropy is now.

[@pommebanane123]

@@jedcasillas5171it was only a part of it, you could understand this video with or without calculus. You’d miss out on some mathematical details, but the premise is still clear.

[@lastdevil4983]

Wtf. I wish I didn't understand this

[@DeathDefiant]

The quote "Nothing happens. And it keeps not happening, forever..." still chills me and really puts 'Heat Death' into perspective.

[@vanyel_etc8695]

Keep in mind that it requires the universe to be expanding or staying the same size for it to happen. There's still a chance that the universe isn't going to expand forever, and even in a state of heat death it may contract, pushing everything back together into a state of low probability. Given enough time, all probabilities will happen. I see no reason why this wouldn't also.

[@isaiahmumaw]

@@vanyel_etc8695​​⁠given enough time, all mathematically possible things CAN happen. Not all mathematically possible things will happen, as the occurrence of one can and often does prevent the occurrence of another.

[@altrag]

On the upside, nothing happening includes nothing capable of having an existential crises about nothing happening :D.

[@nerdonspeed3493]

​@@vanyel_etc8695when the universe stop expanding i think we have reach max entropy

[@anthonyjackson6319]

You should read Stephen Baxter. He wrote some amazing novels that cover the consequences of the heat death. I think the specific title was "Time", though his other notes are equally as good and cover other big cosmological subjects.

[@samharris3263]

This was such a great video - the ideal engine bit was a bit dryer than I think some people want to deal with but otherwise epic intro for anyone on what entropy is

[@user-dg3px2op2g]

The best channel on the internet! It's a continuum of insights and learning; full of examples and great pedagogy!

[@Miguel-ng5wm]

The value of your channel is immeasurable. Thanks for making such great educational videos. You return more value to humanity than what you take. You are an "digital entropy anomaly" thank you!

[@masudsaleh5155]

😂😂😂😂 *Atheists claim that they are intellectually superior to religious people because they are willing to question their beliefs, whereas religious people are dogmatic and refuse to question their deepest beliefs and won't consider evidence that could potentially undermine those beliefs.* Well, have you ever heard an atheist say: "I wonder if constantly increasing individual freedom is a good thing." "I was wrong about democracy being a viable system." "Maybe the sexual revolution was a mistake." "The evidence shows that equality of the sexes is destructive." "Let's have a debate on if freedom of speech and religion is good for society." "Could it be that women need fewer rights?" I have never seen an atheist raise these questions or hold these positions up to serious scrutiny. Nor do they provide any evidence for their beliefs on these matters. They simply assert them and ridicule and mock anyone who disagrees with them.

[@arithex]

I have a degree in chemical engineering .. so, I studied thermodynamics for years. This 20 min youtube video would have helped shortcircuit a year or two of struggling to understand the concept of entropy. The part about the early universe being uniform and evenly distributed, but low entropy, due to gravity -- was particularly mind-blowing. That was something that always bothered me about the concept of entropy, at universe-scale.

[@eshaansangodkar7534]

Actually that is the part I didn’t understand. How is gravity causing it to be low entropy? If someone could answer

[@MrAwdse]

@@eshaansangodkar7534 Because gravity causes things to clump together but in the early universe things appear to be evenly spread, which is a very unlikely configuration which means that it will shift out of that configuration into a more likely one which is why it has low entropy because of that inevitably shift of states.

[@SabrinaXe]

@@MrAwdse if things were evenly spread then it had high entropy not low? I don’t understand the gravity part either

[@fadhilalauddin1365]

​@@MrAwdseFrom what I can understand, you are implying that there is gravity on the early stage of the universe, is that right? If so, then why don't all matters on the universe clump together into one because of gravity, instead of expanding as to how the universe is now? Sorry, I am very, VERY confused on that part 😖

[@kennethbransford820]

=== You need an ordered universe first. The energy from the big bang a first cause event originated in a compact ordered state. Not by accident. Now, entropy is at work. Already the universe is 13 + or - billions years old. The creation of elements took a few billion years to achieve. Now a terraformed earth doesn't just happen and also requires stepped progress. Not by accident peoples. Your brain that is an organic computer no way could have come from dirt. Impossible. Thinking abilities and consciousness are because of complex formulaic chemical equations also not by accident. No way the laws of physics or chemistry could allow and cause your brain, an organic computer to happen from dirt. Impossible ==== Evolution = Self Assembling Atoms = Impossible ====

[@brendonrezende5892]

why have I just discovered your videos? AMAZING content relayed in the most captivating way possible. I will ensure my kids look at these. If I did, I'd have such a passion for it all. You've done, in mere minutes, what the schooling system has failed to do for me in decades

[@gilbertgauger3380]

Oh, the beauty of teaching with today’s graphics. So much better than when I studied these concepts in the early seventies. Back then these could only be pictures in our minds.

[@nuggetz9380]

it must have been so cool to experience the transition from black and white textbook image to graphics in today’s time

[@robertmudrow8034]

@@nuggetz9380 Yeah, cool to be old.

[@zen-isaacreymo4016]

The diaspora of man's convictions being cradled into submission longs to be discovered through the vicariousness of Terran Myths:Inception. Farewell🙏

[@joel230182]

@@robertmudrow8034 in a way, yes it is

[@OnMyLunchBreak07]

​@@nuggetz9380But now we'll get to experience going from a video to VR or whatever the future holds for us lol

[@K-xor]

It took me years to wrap my head around the concept of Entropy. What helped me the most was studying the history of the concept. This video is an accurate summary of what entropy is.

[@whichfilmisit]

-ISNT IT STUNNING VIDEO?!)-

[@Gave-rf1hr]

I still dont understand it lol

[@thethirdjegs]

​@@Gave-rf1hrhow not? Or which part?

[@DileepKumar-ng8ys]

​@@DBeskar6605if u have 138 iq, then u will observe and decide u won't believe those sentences blindly lol

[@Casey_Xx_vLogS]

heYYY

[@Carrymejane]

25:36 It's makes me cry even harder, thanks for the whole message. I think this video is the most beautiful way to help someone at their most depressive episode to not let themself die and make them become interesting at life much bigger

[@dhgmllcshea5038]

Glad you got back on track... the butterfly effect is awesome.

[@Carrymejane]

@@dhgmllcshea5038 thanks alot! I hope you did well too ❤️‍🩹

[@hybmnzz2658]

“Or (the Unbelievers’ state) Is like the depths of darkness In a vast deep ocean, Overwhelmed with billow Topped by billow, Topped by (dark) clouds: Depths of darkness, one Above another: if a man Stretches out his hand, He can hardly see it! For any to whom Allah Giveth not light, there is no light!” [Al-Qur’aan 24:40]. Suhayb ibn Sinān Ar-Rūmi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How wonderful the affair of the believer is! Indeed, all of his affairs are good for him. This is for no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is grateful to Allah, which is good for him. And if something bad happens to him, he has patience, which is good for him." Sahih/Authentic. - [Muslim] Join Islam for goodness in this world and the hereafter. Allah will save you from darkness inshallah.

[@arkabanerjee7704]

Videos like these will be there to connect different schools of thoughts and bring them together to make something larger. Keep on doing the good work brother.

[@shaded3474]

As a mechanical engineering undergraduate, I would thank you for making this video explanation of entropy. And based on what I have seen on KZbin, this is the absolute best explanation of the Carnot Cycle.

[@bomination.]

the earth DOES take in more energy than it radiates. the core of the earth absorbs radiation from the sun and the core grows.... expanding earth etc. the largest dinosaurs could only have survived on a smaller earth with less gravity... fact.

[@cvbattum]

Did I understand correctly that the way energy moves between the bars is the same general concept of time moving forward? The states where entropy decreases are so extremely unlikely that it can't actually happen, same as the states where heat moves from cold to hot being too unlikely for them to happen? If so, that is mindblowing? Would that also mean that time travel is possible _in theory_ if we manage to reverse the increase in entropy?

[@interstellarsurfer]

Thank you for actually describing what the video is about. Not even Veritasium could be bothered to do so. 🙄

[@shaded3474]

​@@cvbattum Well, we can say this in reverse. If (past) time travel would ever be possible in future, it would be accompanied by the decrease in entropy of the universe. Which ultimately leads to the reason why it won't ever be possible in the first place. 😅

[@shaded3474]

There is this absolutely simple example to explain the increasing entropy of the universe: Consider a balloon inflated to say 20% of its full capacity. Now attach suction cups all over its surface and pull in all directions. The balloon would stretch, and as a consequence the entropy of the air molecules inside would increase, just the newly created volume inside would be filled by vacuum. The universe can be thought of in a similar way.

[@dan725]

My god….. The way you explained the Kelvin scale was just so effortlessly intuitive, simple, yet insanely informative. You are an absolute treasure to humanity.

[@shweta3098]

Ok, the definition was amazing, the entropy is a basic building block of my biochemistry class but it was hard to wrap the mond around then i thought why make live which is defying all these laws. The video helped a lot for me to explain it all, i have some new questions to think but its a good start 😅. Once again an amazing explanation for the concept. Before this what I studied of thermodynamics was just remembering bunch of equations and not understanding why i am even studying this subject.

[@72151]

The presentation was very smooth and well narrated. The communication of the theory and how they “most likely” apply in real world situations are easy to understand. I enjoyed listening and watching. I also believe there’s something missing in the explanation, as the reality is not as simple as it seems in the discussion. There are other factors which come into play which have not been discovered yet, we are still infants in the understanding of the physics that create and maintain the universe. Our short lifespans do not allow us to know all there is to know to create a roadmap for why things are in the universe. This is a pleasant explanation with the best understanding we currently comprehend.

[@userunknown101]

I thought I'd consumed enough physics content over the last 12+ years, to not have my mind blown again by any known fundamental physics. I was wrong. This not only blows my mind but immediately reframes how I've been thinking about energy, time and the lifespan of the universe. Thank you for being such a consistently amazing human being, who produces equally amazing content, for so many years.

[@StevoSwiss]

So nicely said. This video really helps sum up energy concepts in a way that create larger understanding. Following lengthy math, we sometimes forget what the core of some of those calculations stem from.

[@danerodriquez1358]

My God Derrick, this is one of your best videos yet. You’re the only content creator that I actively check to see if you have any new content. Your last few videos have been interesting, but this kind of extremely competently explained mind blowing content is some of your best work. You truly have a talent like no other.

[@zumabbar]

derrick

[@verainsardana]

After a few of his recent videos i thought he is done. But he surprised me with this amazing video

[@henriquealexandreh]

Most beautiful science video I’ve ever watched! I feel blessed to have the opportunity to learning this way. Thanks a ton!

[@3dgar7eandro]

Love your channel! Just wanted to say thanks for giving us so munch Physics and knowledge and overall make us wander about how this amazing 🤩 and complex universe came out to be the way it is 😁👏👌

[@Je_ku]

By far one of the most thought provoking episodes I’ve ever seen. Loved every second of it.

[@simondelacanal4543]

I had 2 years of thermodynamics in highschool and understood more in a half hour yt video. Thank you Derek as always for posting such awesome content

[@mosese2995]

I am currently pursuing electrical engineering course and I have come across thermodynamic unit and is really awesome

[@mimichalek]

That's *likely* because a teenage brain is not equipped for abstract thought needed to grasp concepts such as entropy. That is, even if Derek was your secondary physics teacher, it's still more likely you would not have gotten the explanation of entropy. Science can be enjoyed more when you're past 20.

[@piusadas2220]

​@@shadewood3083exactly. im in first year of high school and our chemistry teacher is an absolute GOD. he explained all the concepts mentioned in the video to us during our thermodynamics lectures and the way he explains it is just beautiful. he's been teaching multiple classes since 2003, yet the gleam in his eyes when he explains second law of thermodynamics to us is incredibly inspiring. like he's been teaching THIS long and he's still like, "isn't science amazing?"

[@diegoeliasindriago7991]

@@mimichalek a teenage brain is only lacking development in the prefrontal cortex which regulates thoughts, actions and emotions... they are not dumb, just emotionally chaotic and bad at judging consequences

[@zavatone]

But don't people know that heat through sunlight comes in from the sun during the day and radiates out to space at night? That answers the premise that he starts this video on.

[@jjdiazc]

This is excellence in the form of a great video, thank you for your inspiring work!!!

[@JBNemeth]

BRILLIANT presentation! Perfectly clear and graspable....

[@Thetarget1]

This video is a masterpiece. It´s by far the best explanation of entropy I´ve seen on youtube, going through the most important concepts in several semesters of physics, and it explains it both in simple layman´s terms, but also through the relevant equations, while giving them a graphical representation. It´s honestly really impressive science communication. And I love the old school Veritaseum interviews of random people, who express our own questions and confusion. Well done!

[@Thea-Time-13th]

​@@feynman_QEDbut just right for those who know a little bit and are looking to learn more.

[@Netsuki]

I remember learning about entropy in middle school. I had no idea what it is. Why is "chaos" a thing in physics. This video actually explained it to me.

[@kmesh9]

​​​​​@@feynman_QEDou have to be so boring and pedantic about it? In the world we live in not everyone should have deep and intimate understanding of every topic of science. Videos like this DO give actual knowledge to viewers, albeit on a surface level, but that surface level actually gives a lot of benefits. Specifically - widening persons world view, satisfying and at the same time encouraging very useful need for learning new things and also allowing person to engage in simple discussions about explained topics. It also definitely gives an ability to solve simple problems on this topic or explain it to someone else. There is rarely any need for an average Joe like me or you to know about topics like this in more detail, but if you would need it - videos like these are still useful because that surface level knowledge allows you to point yourself in the right direction for learning further. People being overconfident about their knowledge of topics have nothing to do with Popular Science, only with their own arrogance that they need to coreect themselves.

[@lorenzocapaldo1733]

@@feynman_QEDwhich books would you recommend to start studying physics, I am interested in doing so and I would like to know your opinions

[@hell1942]

​@@feynman_QEDwell I like being challenged by complicated ideas like these, dont really know what your suggesting, that they dumb down these videos, and oversimplify them to the point that they become inaccurate?

[@sanshakuvakei9620]

This channel has become truly incredible over the past couple of years. It was always great, but the increased frequency of uploads and high production quality is amazing. Shout-out to the entire Veritasium team!

[@erock7073]

It was always great, has only gotten better over the years!

[@madhououinkyoma]

@@erock7073 So, what he said. 👍

[@valerienickel7394]

This is a wonderful explanation! I love all the diagrams and examples. From a high school chemistry teacher - THANK YOU!

[@chrisstinson7608]

Seriously, one of the best videos on KZbin.

[@AbdulRazak-nx4ps]

It's mostly unlikely that you will see this comment but, I have been watching since a very long time, the way you make science videos so interesting is mesmerizing. The Production that goes behind, the writing, editing and music combined makes it no less then a sci-fi movie by a huge production house. Thanks for making these videos. Never stop

[@systemui3609]

BE READY TO BECOME FAMOUS BECAUSE I REPLIED... I HAVE BEEN WATCHING SINCE 2020

[@stefanlammer3439]

Your comment defies entropy, as it is interesting!

[@moving.quotes]

It's amazing that I get to watch such a high quality content in 4k packed with tons of information. This 30 min video made thermodynamics far more interesting. This video is so good that if I were in grade school I would be interested in learning more about thermodynamics after watching this.

[@stratogott8134]

I don’t know if it’s because I studied this but I found this video way above the others in term of quality. I can’t quite point out why, butvit was phenomenal in term of production yes.

[@shervinrad100]

I have a masters in chemical engineering and struggled to understand this for years. This is the most elegant and beautiful and logical explanation of thermodynamics I have ever seen and heard.

[@MyMusicClear]

Altho it goes more on a quantum level, I really liked Carlo Rovelli’s explanation in “The order of time”. Even he mentions how there is not such a thing as arrow of time but instead the illusion of it depending on the scale you examine a system.

[@elizabeth-od8xt]

I'm getting my bachelors in chemical engineering right now! im currently a sophomore and taking thermodynamics, thought this was really cool

[@identiticrisis]

I have a ChemEng masters and actually really enjoyed thermodynamics (great lecturer, always helps). I still learned something from this. I do feel it rather skipped over the fact that, aside from fossil fuels and nuclear, the sun's incident energy is all that we get. Therefore it should be considered something of a budget, in synergy with the planet's existing energy systems and with total respect for this concept of entropy (economists in particular need to learn this). Especially now given the increasing challenge with climate change.

[@gorblebuiswack6046]

well, the glory of physics is just changing your timelines to make it correct. So in terms of chemical engineering, this is a vast oversimplification based on extending the timeline to make it net out. Instead, you have to be practical

[@kayakMike1000]

How do you get a master's in any engineering field and not understand freshman thermodynamics? It's super basic stuff.

[@user__214]

Thank you for describing entropy as the "spreading out" of energy! I've never seriously studied physics but that was the understanding that I also came to as a layperson. Yet, my friends who have studied physics always insist on saying that entropy is about "disorder", even though that seems like a much less apt metaphor!

[@bramvanoost]

Fantastic explanation. A big thank you from high entropy Belgium.

[@terapode]

This is the kind of content that should be on TV. You deserve a PhD in eduation as well.

[@macabreaztreonam]

His PhD is in physics education

[@aarondavis8943]

Don't give him ideas! The content is where it belongs; accessible to everyone for free and unfettered by the meddling hands of executives.

[@engineerahmed7248]

PURE BS Incident solar energy is stored in earth as potential energy of petroleum & coal. Gravity crestes Ultra missive Black holes & their explosion is the big bang that creates universe & this process is the source of entropy reduction.

[@manojlds]

Yeah I think he's being a bit vague with his PhD in this video, but it was actually in education. He's not what you will think of when someone says Physicist.

[@madhououinkyoma]

@@manojlds I understand where you're coming from but his PhD was actually in Physics. "Physics Education Research" is only a research area of the Physics Department (just Google sydney university SUPER group). You still need to take graduate-level Physics courses for that as all the others Physics students. And a PhD in Education is not a thing in most universities. Just looked all this up myself.

[@MSmits-mh9dq]

I am a physicist myself, having been trained 20 years ago, this video was interesting and helped me brush up the concept of entropy. It's all well and good to understand the math, but having it illustrated the way it is in this video is very useful. Thank you.

[@skydyverjym]

But it's so elementary. This is below basic

[@coolaidmedic5553]

@@skydyverjym Thanks Mr D. Kruger. Just because Veritasium broke it down for you on a low level doesn't mean you understand. Why dont you tell us how Sgen (kJ/K) = dQ/T was derived?

[@Milesco]

​@@coolaidmedic5553 "Mr. D. Kruger" 😄👍

[@aduts1177]

what do you guys research about?why you cant discover anything significant since einstein?What did you do in the past 20 years?

[@ValeBridges]

@@aduts1177 Jesse, what the hell are you talking about?

[@tonysilva5173]

Just wanna thank you for bringing knowledge to us , the everyday person!!!

[@JAffa91989]

I just rewatched this since I liked it so much the first time! One of the best videos I watched in my recent memory!. Great job team!

[@QUBIQUBED]

im watching this every day actually

[@ZoltanVaci0]

I love the idea of complexity as an interface between low and high entropy presented at the end. It's as if life is riding this wave.

[@Klayhamn]

you can also think of it in terms of other things. imagine for example an image with maximal entropy: it is just "noise" - i.e. random pixels with total randomness of color. now imagine the opposite, an image with minimal entropy: it is an image composed of all pixels being the same color, e.g. white or black. every "interesting" piece of art - is somewhere in between these two extremes. it has enough dissimilar and distinct components to have a "structure", but it's also not so dispersed so as to be indistinguishable from other images. same goes for text, and any other form of information.

[@FLPhotoCatcher]

Derek got the answer to his question about how much energy enters versus leaves the Earth wrong. When plants photosynthesize, they convert some of the energy of the sun into chemical energy. And a fraction of that is buried in the earth's crust as various chemical compounds, such as oil and coal. What happens is, basically, energy is sequestered. Yes, it's a tiny amount compared to the total, but still.

[@ZoltanVaci0]

@@FLPhotoCatcher hydrocarbons in the Earth's crust are constantly being buried but they're also being cooked off by rising temperatures as they get pushed deeper. The reservoirs we're able to exploit are the ones that haven't been destroyed by this process yet. I suspect over geologic time you get something like a fluctuating steady state of total buried hydrocarbons, with more or less depending on biological conditions (e.g. much more during the carboniferous). You also have to take into account the secular cooling of the Earth and how that affects the geothermal gradient. Plate tectonics might eventually shut off; we might get some other cooling regime instead that doesn't allow burial. Overall, though, solar energy in=out is a good approximation without these caveats.

[@randomname9565]

tell me you havn't understood a single thing without telling me