If you’re like me, you’re in Year 12 and taking Chemistry as a pre-tertiary, then you’ll know the Second Law of Thermodynamics like the back of your hand.

However, if you don’t, here it is again. Think of this as early revision for your end-of-year exams that are coming up.

Entropy is always increasing.

Not strictly correct, but that’s the version that I’ll be using for today’s blog post.

Now I’ve never thought of entropy outside of the Chemistry lab apart from when I’m setting the level of Entropy on some FPS (First Person Shooter = computer game) I’m playing, but it apparently has applications in natural science, as well!

As an aside, I’m astounded by the number of adults who don’t know what a LAN party is. We get together with computers and kill other people, take over their land, or orchestrate our enemies’ fiery demise. How simple is that?

Anyway, I’ve now finished Physics of the Impossible (Amazon) by Michio Kaku as mentioned in this post. It’s taken me this long because of numerous, continual interruptions, coupled with the fact that if I read it for too long, my brain will explode. The topics mentioned are a little too advanced for me, so I just have to take lots of little breaks, otherwise I’ll be catatonic for the rest of the day.

Talking about the book itself, it’s really good. If you like Physics, and have an insatiable need to read books on it, I highly recommend Physics of the Impossible and Visions, both of which I own. I’m yet to read Hyperspace, though, and I probably want to.

The book is also the inspiration for this blog post – if entropy is always increasing as it is according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, then you’ll also find that everything is falling apart. How so? Well:

It is far easier to destroy than to build.

Every time you look in the mirror and see a new wrinkle or a new white hair you are observing the effects of the Second Law. Biologists tell us that the ageing process is the gradual accumulation of genetic errors in our cells and genes, so that the cell’s ability to function slowly deteriorates. Ageing, rusting, rotting, decay, disintegration, and collapse are also examples of the Second Law.

So yeah.

I’ll just leave you to mull that over for a minute or so – truth be told, though, I’ve just had a writers spasm. Not able to write anymore.

If you’ve finished mulling, then take a look at this XKCD comic:

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