Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> If entropy is zero then all kinds of things break down.

Entropy is a macroscopic variable and if you allow microscopic information, strange things can happen! One can move from a high entropy macrostate to a low entropy macrostate if you choose the initial microstate carefully. But this is not a reliable process which you can reproduce experimentally, ie. it is not a thermodynamic process.

A thermodynamics process P is something which takes a macrostate A to a macrostate B, independent of which microstate a0, a1, a2.. in A you started off with it. If the process depends on microstate, then it wouldn't be something we would recognize as we are looking from the macro perspective.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: