What Is Entropy? Top 10 Ways Entropy Messes with Us.

[Editor's Note: For some readers, this page will be humorous. For other readers, this page will be deadly serious. Both views are correct. And it should be noted that there are more than 10 ways scattered around this page. Lucky us.]

Why do things breakdown? That's entropy.

Why do things malfunction? That's entropy.

Why are you obstructed in everything you try do do? That's entropy.

Why is Murphy's Law so prevalent? That's entropy.

Why are there a hundred times more mistakes than accomplishments? That's entropy.

Why are there a hundred times more failures than successes? That's entropy.

Whenever a human or humankind in general tries to create order, entropy immediately begins to disassemble it. This is why any man-made object will immediately begin to deteriorate upon its completion. It does not matter if it's a newly manufactured stick of gum or a newly-constructed, 100-story skyscraper; the result is always the same. Entropy immediately begins doing everything in its power to render it useless, broken-down, and of no value.

Oxidation is one of entropy's favorite methods. With almost any physical item that man creates, entropy will start to change that object's chemical structure. In due course the object's chemical composition becomes such that the object's original purpose is no longer viable. Plain old, ordinary rust is a good example of this.

Gravity is another favorite tool of entropy. Quite simply, entropy will keep pulling on each and every object until that object comes crashing down; no matter how long it takes. Entropy never quits.

Friction is another tool of entropy. The more often used term for "friction" is "wear-and-tear". Every time an object is used, it is subjected to wear-and-tear. Sooner or later, that wear-and-tear renders the object no longer usable.

Contamination is one of entropy's often used tools. This is where entropy uses one class of objects to destroy another class of objects. Probably the top categories of objects that entropy uses to destroy other objects and entities are bacteria, viruses, and even plain, ordinary dust.

Heat, otherwise known as an increase in temperature. For every degree increase in temperature, entropy a.k.a. decomposition a.k.a. deterioration a.k. destruction a.k.a. chaos accelerates. A decrease of temperature to .01 degrees Kelvin is minimum entropy. An increase of temperature to x millions/billions degrees is maximum entropy.

Combinations of the above is also an entropic standard procedure. Entropy really likes this procedure because it accelerates the disassembly, usually logarithmically. The best example is where friction generates heat, which causes expansion, which causes more friction, which causes more heat, ad infinitum; the inevitable and sometimes quick result being the destruction of the victim object.

Cross-purposes is another often overlooked tool of entropy. Aside from the inherent cross-purposes designed into what we perceive as nature; we tend to forget that humans are also a part of that same construct. So much so that humans are at cross-purposes more often than they are at equilibrium. The more disagreement, the more entropy. Taken to extreme, there is much more entropy during war than in peace.

Randomness can otherwise be defined as thermodynamics and/or quantum physics. The only difference between the two is the size of the objects that entropy uses as its tools.

In the case of thermodynamics, entropy uses atoms and molecules as it's implementer.

In the case of quantum physics, entropy uses subatomic particles.

In both cases, whether they be molecules, atoms, or subatomic particles; the little critters immediately start randomly wandering around and going places where we don't want them to go.

Two cars arriving at an intersection at the same time is an example of this.

And then there are the asteroids, very large meteors, etc.... They can and do intersect Earth's orbit every now and again. And, of course, sooner or later Earth is just going to happen to be there...

Probability is really just an attempt to understand the aforementioned category of randomness; with the additional factor of randomness using the much larger objects along with the smaller ones.

Entropy is change, invariably for the worse. Entropy is constant. The proverb, "Change is constant", is true. Entropy is the antithesis and enemy of order. Energy and matter are in constant flux. Entropy's favorite concept, quite simply, are: decomposition, destruction, and chaos.