Entropy/lose the math, need laypersons def..

[Brian37]

Is it the idea of going from more order to less order? 

If I read it right, and based on my watching videos of the singularity, scientists are saying that back then, it was more ordered, and now what we observe is less ordered? 

If that is the case, then why do we see now ordered galaxies and solar systems? Or is that a result of expansion creating so much random distance between bodies because of temp differences and cooling?

Whatever you respond with, PLEASE DUMB IT DOWN to a children's party animal balloon metaphor if you can.

[I_am_not_mafia]

Order can be created locally at the expense of greater global disorder.

This happens at the edge of chaos. Too much energy and an ordered system gets blown apart. Not enough and nothing changes. But on the boundary between the two you have enough activity for things to change, but the chance to settle into relatively stable states. This is where you get localised islands of ordered complexity exporting their disorder.

[Brian37]

Order can be created locally at the expense of greater global disorder.

This happens at the edge of chaos. Too much energy and an ordered system gets blown apart. Not enough and nothing changes. But on the boundary between the two you have enough activity for things to change, but the chance to settle into relatively stable states. This is where you get localised islands of ordered complexity exporting their disorder.

Ok, that makes sense. And kind what I thought. So at the state of singularity, everything was more ordered, but with the inflation distance and cooling created more disorder and order became more localized.

[I_am_not_mafia]

Free energy is energy that can perform work. It never performs this 100% efficiently so some free energy is lost as energy that cannot perform work. For example the water at the bottom of a waterfall is about a degree warmer but that doesn't really change anything.

Free energy exists as part of a thermodynamic gradient. For example, you can light a fire under a chimney and the heat will rise pulling up all the smoke because it is much colder above. You can use that heat to warm up water by storing it around the walls of the chimney, so you can put that heat to work. As the flow of free-energy performs work, the gradient is lessened. So the energy from the fire disperses out from a small area as it heats up the water and rises upwards. Or a ball rolling down a slope will slow down as the slope becomes less steep.

[Succubus]

It's actually far more simple than that.

Entropy:

A thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work."

The second law of thermodynamics:
Place a glass of hot water and a glass of cold water in a perfectly insulated container. This is a disordered state. Over a period of time the hot water will cool down and the cold water will heat up. Now you have equilibrium, an ordered state, maximum entropy. no work can be done, ie, no more energy can pass from one body to the other.

[Brian37]

It's actually far more simple than that.

Entropy:

A thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work."

The second law of thermodynamics:
Place a glass of hot water and a glass of cold water in a perfectly insulated container. This is a disordered state. Over a period of time the hot water will cool down and the cold water will heat up. Now you have equilibrium, an ordered state, maximum entropy. no work can be done, ie, no more energy can pass from one body to the other.

This gets to the point that there is no such thing as a perpetual motion machine that has 100% input leading to 100% output. There is always a loss in the exchange when doing work. Correct me if I am wrong.

But in my op, I was trying to understand, that it seems the way I understand it, at the singularity, there was more order, and as inflation took place and the universe expanded there is now less order and more localized order?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Entropy is simply a measure of how disordered a system is.  If you have a box of marbles neatly stacked and sorted according to size and colour, it has low entropy. If you throw that same box of marbles across the room in a fit of rage because your girlfriend just texted you that she's leaving you for a drummer (a fucking drummer) the marble collection now has higher entropy.

Boru

[Brian37]

Entropy is simply a measure of how disordered a system is.  If you have a box of marbles neatly stacked and sorted according to size and colour, it has low entropy. If you throw that same box of marbles across the room in a fit of rage because your girlfriend just texted you that she's leaving you for a drummer (a fucking drummer) the marble collection now has higher entropy.

Boru

HA HA HA HA what's wrong with drummers?

I got it now. 

But I guess what has thrown me off is the language.

"Low entropy"=more order

"High entropy"=less order

I guess the use of "Low" vs "high" are counter intuitive to me. 

But I get it. 

SERIOUSLY thank you. I do get it now. 

I get it now. It is kinda like back in the 90s the Redskins were up 21 to 0 at the half over the Cowboys, =more Order........ But blow it in the second half and lose to the Cowboys, and I run outside and kick a telephone pole=less order. <---True story. My x wife was pissed at me. I didn't break anything but I couldn't walk on that foot for 3 days.

I seriously mean it Boru, that was one of the best metaphors ever. I probably would have done far better in HS and college if teachers could explain it just like you did just now.

[ignoramus]

Entropy:

~ that is no longer available for doing mechanical work."

Poor old Min and Whateverist. Since retiring they are now adding to the universe's entropy levels!

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I guess the use of "Low" vs "high" are counter intuitive to me. 

I know the feeling.  Some years ago, I audited a uni course in urban pest management (no real reason, it was just something that sounded interesting).

It turns out that all pesticides have a value called 'LD50', which is essentially a measure of how toxic a particular chemical compound is.  The counter intuitive bit is that the lower the number, the higher the toxicity.  You'd think it'd be the other way round.

Boru