Physics
Understanding Entropy
Quick fact
The word 'entropy' comes from the Greek 'entropia' meaning 'a turning toward'. In 1865, Rudolf Clausius coined it to describe the dissipation of energy. Astonishingly, entropy also appears in information theory—Claude Shannon used the same formula to measure information content.
Why this is interesting
Think about your bedroom: over time, it naturally gets messier unless you clean it. Why does disorder increase so effortlessly, while order requires effort? That tendency is the essence of entropy.