entropy

entropy
    n 1: (communication theory) a numerical measure of the
         uncertainty of an outcome; "the signal contained thousands
         of bits of information" [syn: {information}, {selective
         information}, {entropy}]
    2: (thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the
       amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for
       doing mechanical work; "entropy increases as matter and
       energy in the universe degrade to an ultimate state of inert
       uniformity" [syn: {randomness}, {entropy}, {S}]
    

Entropy \En"tro*py\, n. [Gr. ? a turning in; ? in + ? a turn,
   fr. ? to turn.] (Thermodynamics)
   A certain property of a body, expressed as a measurable
   quantity, such that when there is no communication of heat
   the quantity remains constant, but when heat enters or leaves
   the body the quantity increases or diminishes. If a small
   amount, h, of heat enters the body when its temperature is t
   in the thermodynamic scale the entropy of the body is
   increased by h / t. The entropy is regarded as measured from
   some standard temperature and pressure. Sometimes called the
   {thermodynamic function}.
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         The entropy of the universe tends towards a maximum.
                                                  --Clausius.
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Heat \Heat\ (h[=e]t), n. [OE. hete, h[ae]te, AS. h[=ae]tu,
   h[=ae]to, fr. h[=a]t hot; akin to OHG. heizi heat, Dan. hede,
   Sw. hetta. See {Hot}.]
   1. A force in nature which is recognized in various effects,
      but especially in the phenomena of fusion and evaporation,
      and which, as manifested in fire, the sun's rays,
      mechanical action, chemical combination, etc., becomes
      directly known to us through the sense of feeling. In its
      nature heat is a mode of motion, being in general a form
      of molecular disturbance or vibration. It was formerly
      supposed to be a subtile, imponderable fluid, to which was
      given the name {caloric}.
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   Note: As affecting the human body, heat produces different
         sensations, which are called by different names, as
         heat or sensible heat, warmth, cold, etc., according to
         its degree or amount relatively to the normal
         temperature of the body.
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   2. The sensation caused by the force or influence of heat
      when excessive, or above that which is normal to the human
      body; the bodily feeling experienced on exposure to fire,
      the sun's rays, etc.; the reverse of {cold}.
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   3. High temperature, as distinguished from low temperature,
      or cold; as, the heat of summer and the cold of winter;
      heat of the skin or body in fever, etc.
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            Else how had the world . . .
            Avoided pinching cold and scorching heat! --Milton.
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   4. Indication of high temperature; appearance, condition, or
      color of a body, as indicating its temperature; redness;
      high color; flush; degree of temperature to which
      something is heated, as indicated by appearance,
      condition, or otherwise.
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            It has raised . . . heats in their faces. --Addison.
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            The heats smiths take of their iron are a blood-red
            heat, a white-flame heat, and a sparkling or welding
            heat.                                 --Moxon.
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   5. A single complete operation of heating, as at a forge or
      in a furnace; as, to make a horseshoe in a certain number
      of heats.
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   6. A violent action unintermitted; a single effort; a single
      course in a race that consists of two or more courses; as,
      he won two heats out of three.
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            Many causes . . . for refreshment betwixt the heats.
                                                  --Dryden.
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            [He] struck off at one heat the matchless tale of
            "Tam o' Shanter."                     --J. C.
                                                  Shairp.
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   7. Utmost violence; rage; vehemence; as, the heat of battle
      or party. "The heat of their division." --Shak.
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   8. Agitation of mind; inflammation or excitement;
      exasperation. "The heat and hurry of his rage." --South.
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   9. Animation, as in discourse; ardor; fervency; as, in the
      heat of argument.
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            With all the strength and heat of eloquence.
                                                  --Addison.
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   10. (Zool.) Sexual excitement in animals; readiness for
       sexual activity; estrus or rut.
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   11. Fermentation.
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   12. Strong psychological pressure, as in a police
       investigation; as, when they turned up the heat, he took
       it on the lam. [slang]
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   {Animal heat}, {Blood heat}, {Capacity for heat}, etc. See
      under {Animal}, {Blood}, etc.

   {Atomic heat} (Chem.), the product obtained by multiplying
      the atomic weight of any element by its specific heat. The
      atomic heat of all solid elements is nearly a constant,
      the mean value being 6.4.

   {Dynamical theory of heat}, that theory of heat which assumes
      it to be, not a peculiar kind of matter, but a peculiar
      motion of the ultimate particles of matter.

   {Heat engine}, any apparatus by which a heated substance, as
      a heated fluid, is made to perform work by giving motion
      to mechanism, as a hot-air engine, or a steam engine.

   {Heat producers}. (Physiol.) See under {Food}.

   {Heat rays}, a term formerly applied to the rays near the red
      end of the spectrum, whether within or beyond the visible
      spectrum.

   {Heat weight} (Mech.), the product of any quantity of heat by
      the mechanical equivalent of heat divided by the absolute
      temperature; -- called also {thermodynamic function}, and
      {entropy}.

   {Mechanical equivalent of heat}. See under {Equivalent}.

   {Specific heat of a substance (at any temperature)}, the
      number of units of heat required to raise the temperature
      of a unit mass of the substance at that temperature one
      degree.

   {Unit of heat}, the quantity of heat required to raise, by
      one degree, the temperature of a unit mass of water,
      initially at a certain standard temperature. The
      temperature usually employed is that of 0[deg] Centigrade,
      or 32[deg] Fahrenheit.
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entropy

   <theory> A measure of the disorder of a system.  Systems tend
   to go from a state of order (low entropy) to a state of
   maximum disorder (high entropy).

   The entropy of a system is related to the amount of
   {information} it contains.  A highly ordered system can be
   described using fewer {bits} of information than a disordered
   one.  For example, a string containing one million "0"s can be
   described using {run-length encoding} as [("0", 1000000)]
   whereas a string of random symbols (e.g. bits, or characters)
   will be much harder, if not impossible, to compress in this
   way.

   {Shannon}'s formula gives the entropy H(M) of a message M in
   bits:

   	H(M) = -log2 p(M)

   Where p(M) is the probability of message M.

   (1998-11-23)
    

107 Moby Thesaurus words for "entropy":
      EDP, abeyance, aloofness, amorphia, amorphism, amorphousness,
      anarchy, apathy, bit, blurriness, catalepsy, catatonia, channel,
      chaos, communication explosion, communication theory, confusion,
      data retrieval, data storage, deadliness, deathliness, decoding,
      derangement, diffusion, disarrangement, disarray, disarticulation,
      discomfiture, discomposure, disconcertedness, discontinuity,
      discreteness, disharmony, dishevelment, disintegration,
      disjunction, dislocation, disorder, disorderliness,
      disorganization, dispersal, dispersion, disproportion, disruption,
      dissolution, disturbance, dormancy, electronic data processing,
      encoding, formlessness, fuzziness, haphazardness, haziness,
      incoherence, inconsistency, indecisiveness, indefiniteness,
      indeterminateness, indifference, indiscriminateness, indolence,
      inertia, inertness, information explosion, information theory,
      inharmonious harmony, irregularity, languor, latency, lotus-eating,
      messiness, mistiness, most admired disorder, noise, nonadhesion,
      noncohesion, nonsymmetry, nonuniformity, obscurity, orderlessness,
      passiveness, passivity, perturbation, promiscuity, promiscuousness,
      randomness, redundancy, scattering, separateness, shapelessness,
      signal, stagnancy, stagnation, stasis, suspense, torpor,
      turbulence, unadherence, unadhesiveness, unclearness, unsymmetry,
      untenacity, ununiformity, upset, vagueness, vegetation,
      vis inertiae