entropy
Meanings
Plural: entropies
Noun
- (communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome
- (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"
- A measure of the disorder present in a system.
- A measure of the disorder directly proportional to the natural logarithm of the number of microstates yielding an equivalent thermodynamic macrostate.
- A measure of the disorder present in a system.
- Shannon entropy
- A measure of the amount of energy in a physical system that cannot be used to do work.
- The capacity factor for thermal energy that is hidden with respect to temperature.
- The dispersal of energy; how much energy is spread out in a process, or how widely spread out it becomes, at a specific temperature.
- A measure of the amount of information and noise present in a signal.
- The tendency of a system that is left to itself to descend into chaos.
Origin / Etymology
First attested in 1867, as the translation of German Entropie, coined in 1865 by Rudolph Clausius in analogy to Energie (“energy”), replacing the root of Ancient Greek ἔργον (érgon, “work”) by Ancient Greek τροπή (tropḗ, “transformation”)).
Synonyms
anergy, bound entropy, disgregation, information, randomness, S, selective information
Antonyms
aggregation, exergy, free entropy, negentropy
Scrabble Score: 12
entropy is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordentropy is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
entropy is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary