The hottest Thermodynamics Substack posts right now

Thermodynamics helps us understand the energetics of processes and evaluates their effectiveness.
Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology can play a significant role in reducing atmospheric CO2 levels beyond traditional emissions reduction methods.
Implementing DAC technology requires a massive amount of energy, emphasizing the importance of finding climate-safe energy sources.

Users are often seen as lazy, but that's because they are busy and don’t have time to adjust to new things unless it’s really worth it.
For people to adopt a new habit or product, the benefit must be significantly greater than the effort it takes to change, often needing to be ten times better or solve an existing problem.
When creating products, it's crucial to understand the user's total experience and ensure the solution truly simplifies their life, or they simply won’t bother adapting.

Entropy is a measure of energy spreading out, not disorder as commonly thought.
Negentropy describes useful energy that becomes dispersed and useless, and its decrease is important for interesting phenomena.
Climate change should be approached as a thermodynamic reckoning, balancing the negentropy from the sun to create a sustainable society.

Quantum theory applies to both small and large systems, outperforming classical mechanics.
The third law of thermodynamics, proposed by Nernst in 1906, states that entropy is zero at zero Kelvin.
Einstein's quantum theory-based model of solids resolved conflicts with the third law, later refined by Debye to include lattice vibrations.

E/acc (effective accelerationism) believes in continuous growth and technological advancement as solutions to human problems.
E/acc is founded on the physics of life, emphasizing that creating structures that efficiently use energy to offload entropy is crucial for survival.
E/acc promotes increasing energy usage, human flourishing, developing AI, and spreading life beyond Earth as key goals for civilization.

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We all have internal rhythms that control our daily life, like how we breathe and sleep. These rhythms have critical points where they shift from one state to another.
When something shifts between two states, like being calm and angry, it’s similar to how systems in nature move from order to disorder. This helps us understand how change happens.
Counting breaths can help us manage our emotions better. Instead of saying 'I'll see you later,' we can measure time in breaths for more peace and balance.

Thoughts can be viewed as a form of energy, following the First Law of Thermodynamics. Your thoughts have sources like your experiences and food, and lead to actions and behaviors.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics applies to the mind, suggesting that without active engagement in learning, relationships, or creativity, our minds decay into chaos. Fostering a sense of meaning and purpose helps combat this decay.
One must identify their 'why' in the battle against entropy. Building systems, relationships, and investing in values can help endure beyond one's lifetime, much like how businesses or legacies can persist through deliberate design.

Entropy is a way to measure the uncertainty or disorder in a system. It can be understood through different models, and how we define our system affects how we calculate entropy.
The concept of entropy relates to information as well. It’s about how well we can predict outcomes based on the information or 'alphabet' we use to understand a system.
Both living organisms and neural networks try to minimize surprise and uncertainty by adjusting their internal models. This process helps efficiently process energy and information from their environment.

The universe naturally trends towards more complex systems. Even when things seem to get simpler, like cleaning a desk, the overall complexity still increases elsewhere.
Simple rules can create complex systems over time, like how stars form and lead to heavier elements. This shows how new complexity builds on what already exists.
As systems develop complexity, they do so faster. For example, it took billions of years for Earth to form, but less time for humans to develop culture and technology.