1 Entropy
1.1 Introduction
Entropy has a long and rich histroy in physics and was developed by many scientists over the years
including Clausius, Maxwell, Boltzmann, Planck, Gibbs, Pauling and more recently Shannon
and Hawking. The applications of entropy are far and wide ranging from engines to
black holes. The concept of entropy was introduced by the German R. J. E. Clausius in
1854.
1.2 Definition
The classical definition of entropy relates the differential change of entropy to the differential
change in heat at a given temperature during a reversible process:
The belief that entropy is a measure of the disorder of the system is a misconception.
1.3 Examples
Entropy, this entry is world editable, so feel free to contribute. Note please be courteous and
document your changes with comments and discuss through posting.
1.4 References
Beginner
[1] Halliday, D., Resnick, R., Walker, J.: ”Fundamentals of Physics”. 5th Edition, John Wiley &
Sons, New York, 1997.
Intermediate
[2] Kondepudi, D., Prigogine, I. ”Modern Thermodynamics From Heat Engines to Dissipative
Structures” John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 1998.
[3] Kittel, C., Kroemer, H. ”Thermal Physics” Second Edition. W.H. Freeman and Company, New
York, 1980.
Advanced
[4] Greven, A., Keller, G., Warncke, G. ”Entropy” Princeton University Press, New Jersey,
2003.
