What is Entropy?

Entropy is a very weird and misunderstood quantity. Hopefully, this video can shed some light on the "disorder" we find ourselves in...
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COOL LINKS & SOURCES
The Mechanical Theory of Heat
(by Rudolf Clausius):
books.google.com/books?id=8LIE...

[@ScienceAsylum]

If you're still confused, try watching my follow-up video: "Why Does Entropy Even Matter?" kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4LLp2aPnc59b5o

[@rillloudmother]

i am confused: why won't my wife let me get a bed shaped like a race car?

[@pamelacollins1153]

Finally, I know who I am . . . I am . . .tum tum ta da . . . Emergent Property!!!

[@starofsagittarius6844]

@@pamelacollins1153 And I am hydrogen and helium.

[@garyschraa7947]

You meant "Organized C H A O S " right ? (Not organized c h o a s)

[@ninachoudhury7208]

I just saw the follow up video. I didn't watch it. But it was there.

[@elPichirri]

My room is best described as a black hole, once i lose something it's gone forever

[@vedprakashtiwari6751]

Then your room must be the universe

[@blizzbee]

Take “everything” out of your room door one-by-one until you find that lost thing. I’m sure you will find.

[@xOxAdnanxOx]

elPichirri whatever goes in never get out hahaha

[@alonshoval6267]

like socks and nerf balls

[@Cosmos_the_stardust]

😂

[@Jopie65]

That last part. "It's like the universe has a witness protection program for its energy and we call it entropy." I think that's the best description of entropy I ever heard 😄

[@Explore_With_Sagar]

Please can you explain me, what's the meaning of this ?

[@bubayou]

Nice try, Still don't know what the hell your taking about.

[@michaelk9907]

why would he make the video if he didn't know and love the subject? you can complain that he didn't express it in a way you understand, but not that he doesn't know it. it seems to me you're the only one who doesn't know what he's talking about.

[@taqunuzuquququ6292]

+Desmond Bear I believe he is talking for himself, not for the maker of the video. I also found it interesting and entertaining but not especially helpful.

[@michaelk9907]

taqunuzuqu ququ oooh that's true its ambiguous. Interesting wordplay, even though it was unintentional :)

[@Simp_Zone]

I understood it. At the end of the dispersion of the colour in the liquid it would be impossible to trace where it was first added, so you could say the dispersion was entropic... I think.

[@joshuatarango3989]

Same.

[@JakeSherman3]

Your videos are amazing. I am completing my bachelor's degree in physics and to me the hardest thing to reading/studying physics is how to comprehend/visualize the meanings through simple explanations. If you truly understand a concept, teaching it with simple means with enthusiasm and humor, makes it so much more enjoyable as well. Knowing the math is great and all but understanding the meaning is what physics and your explanations brilliant.

[@ScienceAsylum]

Thanks!

[@MikaylaTgirl]

I'm still confused....

[@ScienceAsylum]

Follow-up video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4LLp2aPnc59b5o ...your comment made an appearance :-)

[@artunkopar9034]

So your brain has got high entropy :)

[@dalibosch5028]

Easy way to get into "entropy" understanding is the level of hidden information.

[@krutikzim]

yaa me too

[@krutikzim]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmiTqml9irCVrcU

[@mnada72]

To understand the subject you need to think in terms of: - Emergent property - Energy status (chaotic vs ordered or condensed) I am satisfied with the explanation. Thanks

[@Mr518888]

You are absolutely brilliant, I can't comprehend how you have so few views and subscribers. Keep on doing your thing, and remember that this random stranger is enormously grateful for your work. Thanks Nick!

[@ScienceAsylum]

+Mr518888 Thanks for watching and appreciating! It's what keeps people like me motivated.

[@christianlearnertv2335]

Mr. CHAN

[@educationallinks9403]

is 62000 subscribers less!!!!!!

[@ScienceAsylum]

What is Entropy? It's a greatly misunderstood measurement having every day consequences. Watch to learn more!

[@runebach2134]

+The Science Asylum Nice video, I wish I kan say I got it :) Reading the book "Hyperion cantos" where anti entropic fields cause a time lapse i a area, so here I am. Maybe the language barrier adds to the confusion.

[@ScienceAsylum]

***** Don't be too hard on yourself. Entropy is very difficult to understand... especially in a few minute video. I did a follow-up video and it's still difficult: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4LLp2aPnc59b5o

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

I know, we must ask Dr. Who, which ever one of them is around, about this!

[@monicahouston1412]

spiritual entropy

[@manousakis96]

Ok men great video good work if you mind you can talk a little slower but it's ok it's sour a great work so congratulations about it

[@ribi3850]

«I got in to a fight with a cheese grater» me studying: hmmm, seems like a reliable source

[@MrRizzyWizzy]

I've been watching a LOT of The Science Asylum this week, and this is the earliest video of you I've seen. Pretty cool to see how far your production quality has gone up from an already great start.

[@ScienceAsylum]

Thanks! This one is soooo old 🤦‍♂️

[@Django44]

Superb video - my first one of yours. Love your attitude, your pace, explanations, visual aids and more. Prior to this one I watched the beginnings of a few others (on entropy) and yours is by far the best. I was hooked for the full 5 minutes, and as much as entropy was trying it was unable to divert my attention.

[@francoismorin8721]

It is probably a show for kids and youngsters, but I always end up on this channel when I need to better understand physics concepts and laws. Because they say that when you understand enough in a subject to explain to a 5-year-old, then you are a good teacher! Thank you, Science Asylum! Lol

[@ScienceAsylum]

My intended audience has always been adults. I just feel like that's no reason to be boring. Science education can be fun for adults too 🤓

[@francoismorin8721]

@@ScienceAsylum Cool! But I am convinced you also have a crowd of little budding genius. Have a good day and keep on the fun videos about science!

[@benphillips66]

I like to think of entropy as the universe’s persistent pursuit of a smooth and uniform state.

[@Ozil281]

*_the word "high entropy" can't describe how much chaos in my room_*

[@kristellfadul1906]

I truly love your videos!! Each one makes me a little bit crazier!! My room is definitely a low energy room. I like things to be really organized, and to look like that too. =)

[@Jordan-dt6qx]

The equations of relativity allow things to flow backwards and forwards in time, which makes me think we see entropy because of our prospective of traveling "forward" in time...

[@ScienceAsylum]

Jordan Chessor It allows for them, yes, but things moving forward in time can't ever interact with things moving backward. Maybe I should do a video on Tachyons...

[@spaaaaace8952]

***** Yes, please.

[@leeclements323]

That was actually quite informative. Well explained.

[@RurikLoderr]

I'm really surprised.. you did an absolutely excellent job explaining the reality of what entropy is.

[@iKaviD3]

Weirdly enough, that was the best explanation for entropy I've heard.

[@motivationcure9312]

I thought this guy was kane from wwe !!!!!

[@kapilellawadi]

yes amazing resemblance

[@ngoziokuboyejo3133]

your dumb

[@nishantmistry1998]

Hahaha

[@motivationcure9312]

@@ngoziokuboyejo3133 thank you for your kind words!! I'm offended!! LOL

[@dileanperdomo3821]

I see it this way, the word Chaos had a highly intentional entropy

[@asmaar566]

that final bit on entropy was millions to one

[@floydnasri]

Great video. Nice breakdown to a very difficult concept. Thank you!!

[@mrcheesesmith]

I now understand, our lives, and everything else that is ever was or ever will be that exists has no point no meaning and no purpose.Reality is a gigantic chemical reaction of immeasurable quantity of atoms reacting with each other simply trying to maximise its entropy before the inevitable end. I feel so depressed now.

[@ScienceAsylum]

+I do things out of spite ...and, yet, here you are... pondering the abyss.

[@michaelk9907]

But nothing has changed about the universe from before you watched this video other than the way you think about it. no reason to feel any worse now than you once did :P

[@percivalconcord9209]

+I do things out of spite Let's hug it out and eat ice cream together....

[@Stevo1361]

+I do things out of spite Hmm, a bunch of atoms feels depressed about it's self imposed lack of importance. How intriguing.

[@johnogrady8472]

+I do things out of spite Welcome to existentialism, go pick up some absurdist theory, Albert Camus awaits

[@greatindianscience9446]

one of the my favorite channel

[@bseduarda]

This video helped me so much!!! How can you explain things and make they seem so simple while the others sources of information make it so complicated? Thank you so much! You helped saving my biophysics final!

[@ScienceAsylum]

+Eduarda Barros Yay :-) I'm glad it helped!

[@fangugel3812]

Thanks, Nick! If you feel like it one day, it might be nice to do another entropy video using the “information “ analogy. I’ve seen a couple of those but would really appreciate your take on it.

[@ScienceAsylum]

What is Physical Information? kzbin.info/www/bejne/paObg56qn8R7d5Y

[@felynecomrade]

I define entropy with a very general phrase "the spreading out". If something hits the ground, its momentum goes into underground vibrations that spread out. If you pee in a swimming pool, your pee won't stay where it is, it will spread out. If you light a baby on fire, the heat doesn't stay where it is, it spreads out. It has to. If heat didn't spread out, then things wouldn't feel hot or cold. Ice wouldn't melt. We could sleep naked on the South Pole and feel fine. To me, entropy just means "the spreading out". Whether it's matter or energy, they all spread out. Entropy is one of those ancient eternal badasses that rule the universe, and as far as I know, the only thing standing against it is another ancient eternal badass: gravity. These two are fighting, and either way, the winner will kill us all. Entropy will freeze us to death in motionless silent darkness, and gravity will crush us into dust and then crush the dust into smaller dust with black holes.

[@ScienceAsylum]

felynecomrade Depressing... but accurate.

[@shinobiification]

***** it proves that nothing is for us.

[@felynecomrade]

:)

[@jeboyzs]

Wow! Thanks! ^_^

[@AMULET72]

Not bad.

[@HUNTERSDREAM]

"If you ever feel like dying for the sake of the universe, call me, I'll be waiting." - Kyubey

[@RogerTerrill]

very cool that entropy is "emergent" - thanks Nick!!!

[@tarunmathew8601]

Great video dude. Keep it up!

[@cwjalexx]

rudolph clausius? i know that's you santa pick a better alias!

[@casinogiant]

Wanna hear the weirdest thing... I was actually looking at my room which made me think of how I could decrease my entropy by cleaning it. Which made me think of how I heard entropy can only increase. Which lead me to google searching entropy. Which lead me to this video. Which you then asked the question what state of entropy my room was in, to which I must answer the universe has lost track to the order of the energy in my room.

[@ScienceAsylum]

Full circle.

[@casinogiant]

***** Yes, I am not what, I am how.

[@panhandlejake6200]

Two things yet to cover: First - the speculation that entropy defines the arrow of time (easy to tell which replay of the mixing fluid is 'correct') Second - in thermodynamics we do try to quantify entropy. It takes energy to reduce entropy so there is a trade-off that must be considered for conservation of energy. Trying to carry his analogy further - it takes energy to organize a messy room (the room may still be messy but more organized) then entropy enters because over time the universe loses track of who expended the energy to organize the room - you or your mom.

[@kristinemccowan6572]

Very low entropy in my room! Great video -Thank you !

[@jademoonphoenix]

"It's 'disordered' because the universe itself has lost track of the energy's origins." I was still hopelessly confused up until the moment he said that. Now I think the concept of entropy has clicked for me. (So, it's like, once it's impossible to tell how or even that the Big Bang happened, the universe has reached maximum entropy?)

[@ScienceAsylum]

Pretty much. At that point, everything is random and nothing significant will be happening any more.

[@gijsvandinther]

​@@ScienceAsylum But isn't it so that just after the big bang, everything was at extemely high entropy. Everything was a small ball of pure energie. So the big bang itself lowered entropy as the energy formed into stars and galaxies? And then at some point entropy started increasing again?

[@PawlTV]

Damn, I lost it at "witness protection program" :D

[@SasyaShyamYella]

Wow! Amazing explanation. Thank you!

[@snaggledog0079]

High levels of entropy, now my universe makes sense. I am doomed.

[@SargeScum]

hey Nick I found a way to really enjoy my LUCID dreams... awesome

[@Focus31415]

Lucid is probably a pseudonym.

[@techtronics6121]

you have a great sense of humour sir

[@empo1145]

Congratulations‼️ Super cool material. 👍

[@stefaniasmanio5857]

Witness protection program… you are a pure genius…

[@ChuDust]

Omg I need that clock in my room

[@tiffanyrivera3623]

Think geek has it.

[@bhavyaarora4027]

that clock backside is awwwsm n vedio too !!!

[@-30h-work-week]

My room? :)) I can't find my phone even if I was holding it a minute ago. Remember all those white and black dots on old TV's when there was no signal?

[@Reelalitybytes]

This is top notch. Thank you!

[@dileanperdomo3821]

Loved the video, don't take me wrong... but did any one notice he misspelled Chaos?? 🤨

[@snaggledog0079]

Dilean Perdomo not a misspelling, that’s entropy in a actionn😎

[@Marc12394]

Lol still dont understand but ill keep looking around. Nice vid though lol.

[@ScienceAsylum]

Marc-Anthony Pabon There's a follow-up video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4LLp2aPnc59b5o

[@Marc12394]

Awesome, thanks.

[@Fomites]

Nick - it seems to me that you have given entropy and similar abstract topics a great deal of thought. This takes great focus. Similar to Einstein in that he was renown for his intensity of focus perhaps? I wish I had the same focus.

[@ByRachelTaylor]

0:55 looking like a bootleg Abe Lincoln

[@coastergirl98]

How accurately are the songs unsustainable and isolated system off the Muse album The 2nd Law which was named after the second law of thermodynamics.

[@ScienceAsylum]

Alex Leonard The lyrics are pretty accurate actually.

[@ScienceAsylum]

Alex Leonard Also, I'm a Muse fan, so this comment was awesome.

[@souloftheage]

WOW!, I did well in physics and in particular, thermodynamics, but his "explanations" lost me. I understand ENTROPY. I just didnt understand how he was trying to explain it.

[@yuurishibuya4797]

michael allen lol, I know what u mean

[@andrewvirtual]

Right? The explanation made me feel like I was on acid

[@bradwrobleski568]

Dude thanks for the low entropic pedagogy! awesome!

[@lockercoin3693]

Cool video! Those super zoom thing is a nice touch btw

[@ScienceAsylum]

Thanks!

[@craighein5409]

No one knows how I do it but my room is a blizzard, but, I know where everything is. :)

[@skydragon3857]

:)

[@furkansalihkuk]

Organized Chaos.

[@mistermoon4508]

Fix this for me please: "From the light of the conscious mind comes order out of the darkness of the unconscious mind." I need to be educated on this subject. Much love from a learner.

[@danielspeake7539]

Shut up.

[@davidmatlaw7833]

Awesome and fun presentation!!!

[@sandreid87]

I'd explain entropy as "The energy of the universe tends towards being evenly spread everywhere (Equilibrium, if you may)." As in, Heat Death of the Universe. It doesn't really have anything to do with chaos, randomness, or order, or any other silly distracting words used to describe it.

[@ahmadalfilali8692]

Toooo enthusiastic.

[@WhatsYerFace344]

I got into a fight with a cheese grater

[@VSHEGDE1947]

Are ya winning son

[@ankan.neutrinos]

also love your old video, full knowledge

[@mandyluzmarquez1234]

I would explain it like this…. The moment we (conscious awareness and emergent property) becomes aware of having lost the origin of the energy of particles we may classify them as “chaotic” and simultaneously gain the “emergent property” that is our ability to measure the degree of disorder of the energy in the whole…

[@sudhakarkbr7465]

increase entropy on my mind while watching u r video😕😕😕😨😨😨

[@SreeragNairisawesome]

I think u r the first person to use 'u r' incorrectly....

[@RawliglatX]

+Sreerag blame entropy.

[@azanshaikh7825]

"super zoom" buahhahahahahhahahahahah

[@IanD.]

Mom: clean your room it's so chaotic Me: no need mom, it is organized chaos

[@nathanbyrum7288]

My sock drawer is brimming with entropy!

[@TheSageCommander]

4:10 spelled chaos wrong. irony :)

[@bruh8117]

TheSageCommander Lol saw that ams I was looking for someone to comment that.

[@sikholiwenxazonke7613]

entropy is the measurement of chaos in a system.

[@ScienceAsylum]

sikholiwe nxazonke But then what is chaos?

[@claragabbert-fh1uu]

Entropy complicates resolve because a System is: gossipy/(sensitive: susceptible). Discipline focuses design upon Resolve SO you do NOT have to talk about it, and can enjoy more snuggle time with your own System. Discipline begins by recognizing what is Relevantly significant to YOUR system. The tendency to make that unique to YOUR system modalizes design into unique but synergistic function or purpose.

[@AdilKhan-gd2sc]

Universe loses track? But information is never lost? Can you reconcile these?

[@topobuddy5623]

Clicking on this video was the worst decision of my life. Just wasted 5 precious minutes...

[@elocinsel]

good explanation and funny too :) thanks

[@ScienceAsylum]

elocin sel You're welcome! :-)

[@Slarti]

Actually it was a very poor andalusia incorrect explanation.

[@nemdenemam9753]

I gotta say you improved a lot. These earlier videos are not so clear as the new ones

[@ScienceAsylum]

Thanks :-) I'm a work in progress.

[@nemdenemam9753]

Just keep on doing this for the sake of us. You are amazing :)

[@TheGlass50]

Great job! You explained entropy well. 👊🏿... Thank you!

[@ScienceAsylum]

You're welcome! Glad you liked it!

[@Slarti]

Unfortunately the explanation was incorrect.

[@AntonHax]

wow i liked the video buddy, excellent intro to theermodynamics

[@chipmode9x]

love your explanation!

[@this-is-bioman]

I'm starting to like entropy as it seems to the best argument against evolution. Since we consider the probability of energy spread much higher than energy concentration that we consider as virtually impossible to ever occur, we cannot make an exception for evolution and just say "ok, in this case our washing machine produced folded laundry".

[@ChongFrisbee]

My understanding is that molecules do have mesures of entropy. After all, they do "store" energy in their bonds. They don't really store energy in their bonds, they do the opposite. However, when you compare isomeres, some configurations would have had to release more energy to come about, thereby reducing the accessibility of that energy i.e. increasing entropy.

[@XEinstein]

I'm watching this in 2019. There's soooo much difference compared to Nick's current video's.

[@ScienceAsylum]

Yeah... I've learned a lot....

[@XEinstein]

@@ScienceAsylum yes, not only has the universe's entropy increased in those six years. Also your video skills! 👌🏼 And my abilities as an endurance racer 💪🏼

[@chriskeranen]

Don't forget about enthalpy. Disorder to order. Good job I like your videos.

[@alial-n4445]

Nice man :) ... I really admire your way of presentation of science ^_^

[@ScienceAsylum]

+Ali AL-N Thanks!

[@tryingsmall]

As a rule your videos are wonderfully enlightening. This one is an exception. I think it would be more helpful to define entropy in terms of the amount of information required to define a system.

[@ScienceAsylum]

This is a _very_ old video back before I really figured out this whole YT thing. I did a better job in later videos: Why Does Entropy Even Matter? kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4LLp2aPnc59b5o What is Physical Information? kzbin.info/www/bejne/paObg56qn8R7d5Y

[@MNM482]

Very interesting video - but I have to say... is there a baby in the clothes hamper at 4:07? That really IS a chaotic room

[@professordeb]

My engineering thermodynamics prof described entropy as ‘uniformity’...in other words tending toward the lowest energy state. I don’t really ever hear it described that way by others, but it seems to make sense. In that understanding, entropy is really a driving force in the universe, doing useful work as energy moves from high organization to the uniformity of the lowest energy state. It’s oddly counterintuitive to say that entropy is increasing when going to a lower state, though.

[@ScienceAsylum]

I did a follow-up video that goes into a little more detail about how probability/statistics fits into this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4LLp2aPnc59b5o

[@Antz_411]

So the energy in any isolated system will ALWAYS tend towards chaos (higher entropy). Okay I think I finally got this one!

[@PCK-er3cs]

underrated channel :(

[@whitenightnight5245]

I LOVE THIS GUY HES A GREAT PICK ME UP! SMART TOO!

[@andrewvirtual]

Entropy can be understood as the number of configurations (or “micro states”) of a certain system . By definition S = kB ln (Omega), where omega is the number of micro states. One can understand this omega variable is astronomically large as one has to take a logarithmic expression and scale it to kB to get units comparable to energy dU = TdS - pdV + etc..

[@ScienceAsylum]

I did a follow-up video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4LLp2aPnc59b5o

[@franciscoalvarez5215]

Nice explanation.

[@bricesonc]

Hahaha, love your videos. Thank you.

[@mariamshuaibu9753]

thanks a lot science asylum this really helped me

[@ScienceAsylum]

+mariam shuaibu You're welcome! Glad it helped :-)

[@nickyhackett968]

Very helpful (and amusing). Thank you

[@ScienceAsylum]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@culwin]

4:12 choas It only took me 5.5 years to find this

[@YZFoFittie]

Think about Entropy in relation to equilibrium. The food coloring example is the best one. Early on the particles are randomly, chaotically mixing, high entropy. Once the mixture settles into equilibrium, well mixed, low entropy. Does that make more sense? In other words, once a change in energy has been introduced, TIME will pass as entropy is lost...

[@ScienceAsylum]

I did a follow-up video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4LLp2aPnc59b5o

[@macronencer]

My bedroom is very low-entropy because I can't sleep unless things are neat and tidy around me. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the other rooms in my house! I'm working on it though.

[@TheSkullConfernece]

That cheese grater was trying to increase your entropy. Entropy always wins.

[@ScienceAsylum]

Always.

[@ninachoudhury7208]

cheese graters can't fight duh

[@ninachoudhury7208]

Wait WHAT WHY ARE YOU REPLYING

[@ninachoudhury7208]

Aka. The Science Asylum

[@animeguy6877]

My brain hurts. No not the video. You did a great job explaining. I'm talking about trying to read the time in your clock!

[@VedanthB9]

2:47 If that collision happens in forward direction, some energy should be released. But if that same collision is played backwards (in time), as you showed in the video, then energy should be absorbed to “undo” that collision. Right? But that does not happen in real life. Even there we see that it’s not a reversible phenomenon. So, is entropy really emergent? Or is it inherent?

[@ScienceAsylum]

Between the _individual molecules,_ energy is certainly exchanged. In reverse, that energy is just exchanged the other direction. There's not room for "release." It's just two molecules. It's only on the normal-scale where we see irreversible processes. That's emergence.

[@VedanthB9]

The Science Asylum Makes a lot more sense now. Thank you!

[@ScienceAsylum]

You're very welcome 😊