Yeah, but we're talking about something that's (a) way into the future (like, the sun expands, which we inexplicably survive, and then another few billion years), and (b) can't really be avoided. So, no need to stress.CuddlyCombine said:
Not really. Entropy (in the purely physical sense) is not equivalent to chaos. Entropy is merely the tendency of all reactions (physical or chemical) to (a) evenly distribute energy, and (b) lose some amount of energy to the outside system. While entropy may cause what appears to be chaos in some circumstances (your example is inapt), to equate the two is fundamentally incorrect.Anarchemitis said:
The reasons cards fall haphazardly if tossed into the air has little (if anything) to do with entropy. Air currents are responsible, since the cards actually float a little (low terminal velocity). Now, the basis of those air currents is entropic in nature (moving from high-concentration to low-concentration), but it's not the same concept.
Bear in mind that entropy is a measure of how likely a given ordering is, while disorder is the measure of violation of an ordering rule. if you take a piece of glass, which is an amorphous material (one whose atoms are disordered), and place it in a fridge to cool it down, you will not change the atom locations. The glass remains just as disordered, but its entropy decreases as its temperature drops. Energetically, the second law of thermodynamics favors the formation of the majority of all known complex and ordered chemical compounds directly from their simpler elements. Thus, contrary to popular opinion, the second law does not dictate the decrease of ordered structure by its predictions. It only demands a "spreading out" of energy when such ordered compounds are formed spontaneously.
I can get into the whole evolution as a selection criteria, which does allow for the creation of order (if there were a deck which was more likely to land ordered, and being ordered was something you wanted in your deck, wouldn't you buy more of that kind of deck? If you buy more of that kind, less of the other kinds will be made), but it might fall on deaf ears.
