ENTROPY

What is entropy

In heat engine theory, the term entropy plays a vital role and leads to important results which by other methods can be obtained much more laboriously.

It may be noted that all heat is not equally valuable for converting into work. Heat that is supplied to a substance at high temperature has a greater possibility of conversion into work than heat supplied to a substance at a lower temperature.

“Entropy is a function of a quantity of heat which shows the possibility of conversion of that heat into work. The increase in entropy is small when heat is added at a high temperature and is greater when heat addition is made at a lower temperature. Thus for maximum entropy, there is minimum availability for conversion into work and for minimum entropy there is maximum availability for conversion into work.”

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