entropy Archives - Visualab

If heat is released from a system, will entropy increase?

20 September 20145 February 2016 by Mario Alemi

Mario Alemi

Let's ask ourselves this question –will our knowledge about a system increase or decrease when the system cools down? When it's hot, there is high uncertainty about position and speed of the molecules composing the system. The more temperature goes down, the more precise your knowledge about position and speed will…

Taming Complexity –The Magnum Ice Cream

24 October 20132 September 2018 by Mario Alemi

Mario Alemi

The Magnum: As Simple as Possible Giacomo, in his "Cremeria Castiglione", explains to me how he is able to make one of the best gelatos in Bologna, and possibly in Italy. This means, for Italians at least, one of the best ice creams in the world. "Making gelato is…

How can entropy both decrease predictability and promote even distributions?

4 June 20139 June 2016 by Mario Alemi

Mario Alemi

Consider this image: There is no uniformity, and the level of prediction is high. You immediately see that the person on the left is rich, the one on the right is poor. You know who'll have a good meal tonight. Who has higher life expectancy. And so on. Consider this…

Graph entropy: a definition and its relation to information

24 January 20135 February 2016 by Mario Alemi

Mario Alemi

A common question is if entropy and information theory are related. The answer is yes. How? And how are they related in graph theory? Von Neumann explains the relationship between entropy and information in a crystalline definition: "Entropy is the difference between the information provided by the macroscopic description and…

Why is the future and the past so different?

14 December 201223 July 2014 by Mario Alemi

Mario Alemi

The "directionality" of time can be easily explained in terms of entropy, as you point out --and not vice-versa. It's also easy to understand, if you consider the statistical mechanics' definition of entropy. Slightly formal: Systems evolve from the past, where they find themselves in an improbable state, to the…