ent
ro
py
Plural
entropies
1
a thermodynamic measure of the degree of disorder or randomness in a system, denoted by S
- When ice melts into water at a higher temperature, the entropy of the system increases.
- Gas molecules in a container have higher entropy than the same molecules in a more ordered liquid state.
- The entropy of a gas typically increases with an increase in temperature, reflecting increased molecular motion.
- Breaking a solid into smaller pieces can increase entropy, as the particles have more freedom of movement.
- Dissolving a solute in a solvent generally increases the entropy of the system.
Synonyms:
2
a numerical measure of the uncertainty or unpredictability of an outcome or information source
- The entropy of the message stream was calculated to optimize compression.
- High entropy in a password indicates greater security.
- Shannon defined entropy to quantify information content.
- The system's entropy decreased as redundant signals were removed.
- Entropy in communication helps engineers design efficient coding schemes.
Synonyms: