Principle of ‘thermodynamics’

solar French physicist Nicolas Carnot proposed the ’second law’ of thermodynamics in around 1840.

The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium.

In a simple manner, the second law states “energy systems have a tendency to increase their entropy rather than decrease it.”

A way of thinking about the second law for non-scientists is to consider entropy as a measure of disorder.

So, for example, a broken cup has less order (more entropy) than an intact one, and it is more difficult to repair a broken cup (reducing its entropy) than to break an intact one (increasing its entropy). Likewise, solid crystals, the most organized form of matter, have very low entropy values; and gasses, which are very disorganized, have high entropy values.