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Entropy, Information, and Symmetry: Ordered is Symmetrical.
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Ariel University, Ariel 407000, Israel.
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 8, 2020
Summary
Entropy, a measure of disorder, is re-envisioned as the absence of symmetry. Introducing symmetry into physical systems, like elementary magnets or particle chambers, demonstrably reduces their entropy, offering a clearer understanding of this fundamental concept.
Area of Science:
- Thermodynamics
- Statistical Mechanics
- Physical Systems
Background:
- Entropy is commonly interpreted as a measure of chaos or disorder, but these terms are often vaguely defined.
- This ambiguity leads to widespread misinterpretations of entropy in scientific contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a novel interpretation of entropy by defining disorder as the absence of symmetry.
- To demonstrate that introducing symmetry into physical systems reduces their entropy.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual redefinition of disorder as a lack of symmetry.
- Mathematical and physical modeling of one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) systems of elementary magnets.
- Analysis of particle systems within a partitioned chamber.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that introducing symmetry into systems of elementary magnets (1D and 2D) necessarily decreases their entropy.
- Confirmed that imposed symmetry does not affect the Landauer principle in the studied systems.
- Showed that applying symmetry restrictions to a partitioned particle system also reduces its entropy.
Conclusions:
- Symmetry is proposed as a quantifiable aspect of order, directly contrasting with disorder (absence of symmetry).
- The study provides a more rigorous framework for understanding entropy by linking it to symmetry principles.
- The findings offer a new perspective on entropy reduction through the imposition of symmetry in various physical systems.
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