Assignment title:
“ Entropy of the system is
constantly increasing”.
Submitted to : Mr. Touqeer Ahmed
Submitted by : Muddasar shah
Roll no : 24-CHM -104
Department of Chemistry
Wapda Post Graduate College Tarbela
Reason: The Second Law of Thermodynamics.
The second law of thermodynamics is the primary reason why entropy constantly increases in
an isolated system. It states:
"In an isolated system, the total entropy can never decrease."
Entropy tends to increase over time in isolated systems, or at best, stay constant in reversible
processes.
This law suggests that in any natural process, the total disorder or randomness (entropy) of the
universe (or an isolated system) will either stay the same or increase.
Explanation: Why Entropy Increases
1. Statistical Probability and Disorder:
Probability plays a crucial role. For a system to be in a state of low entropy, the particles (atoms
or molecules) must be arranged in a highly ordered way. The fewer the possible arrangements,
the lower the entropy.
On the other hand, high entropy corresponds to a disordered state where the particles can be
arranged in many different ways. There are far more possible configurations for particles in a
disordered state than in an ordered state.
This means that, statistically, systems are more likely to move toward higher entropy states
because there are more possible ways to arrange particles in a disordered system. It's simply a
matter of probability—a system will naturally tend to "favor" a state that has more configurations
(higher entropy).
2. Energy Dispersal:
Entropy can also be understood as a measure of how energy is distributed in a system. In a
system with high entropy, energy is spread out more evenly across the system.
Systems tend to evolve towards energy equilibrium because it is more probable for energy to
disperse than to remain concentrated in one part of the system. This dispersal of energy
increases entropy.
Example: If you have a hot object in a cooler environment, heat will flow from the hot object
(higher energy) to the cooler surroundings (lower energy) until thermal equilibrium is reached.
As heat spreads out, the total entropy of the system increases.
3. Irreversibility of Natural Processes:
Spontaneous processes (like heat transfer, mixing, or the dissolution of substances) increase
entropy because they move the system towards more probable (disordered) states. In these
processes, energy spreads out and systems tend toward equilibrium, which corresponds to the
state of highest entropy.
Once these processes occur, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the system to
spontaneously return to a lower-entropy state. The increase in entropy is irreversible over time.
Example: Think of ice melting in a warm room. The ice (solid, low entropy) absorbs heat from
the surroundings and melts into water (liquid, higher entropy). The water molecules in the liquid
state are more disordered than in the solid state, and this process is irreversible under normal
conditions (the ice won’t spontaneously refreeze unless cooled externally).
