entropy and disorder - university of notre dame.pdfVIP

CO~TEMP. PHYs., 1970, VOL. 11, No.6, 581-588 Entropy and Disorder P. G. WRIGHT Lecturer in Physical Chemistry, The University, Dundee SCM:;Lt\:RY. A discussion is given of some aspects of the relation between concepts of entropy and intuitive qualitative ideas concerning disordor . In t,his connection, a plea is made for moderation in the use of such ideas in teaching. In particular: (i) They ought not to be so misused as to obseUIe the status of S as a quantity which can be treated in a purely macroscopic theory. (ii) They do not exhibit a complete correspondence with the concepts of a quantitative treatment on the molecular level. 1. Introduction It is not uncommon to encounter an inaccurate appreciation of what is the relation between, on the one hand, concepts concerning entropy, and, on the other, intuitive qualitative ideas concerning increased disorder. In consequence of recent urgings towards the teaching of thermodynamics at earlier stages than those hitherto deemed appropriate, the dispelling of such inaccuracies acquires a new urgency. Among the sponsors of the entry of entropy into school courses, there seem to be many who are unaware that such utterances as Entropy is a name given to a quantitative measure of disorder represent, not the received doctrine of physical science, but (to say the a highly contentious opinion. Some points frma the literature The last remark is easily justified by reference to the pertinent literature. Thus Khinchin (1949): the statement that the entropy of a system is proportional to the logarithm of the probability of the corresponding state ... ,