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Entropy

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

Entropy is a thermodynamic concept introduced in 1865 by Clausius. Entropy, represented by S, increases in any spontaneous processes (where ΔS is positive) taking place in an isolated system, i.e., a system which does not exchange matter or energy with its surroundings. If two gases are in a constant-temperature box, initially separated by a partition and that partition is removed, the gases will mix without a change in enthalpy. Entropy, however, increases as the gases mix in this spontaneous process and acts as the driving force.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Jacques Reisse

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  1. Jacques Reisse
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Correspondence to Jacques Reisse .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Reisse, J. (2014). Entropy. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_523-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_523-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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