Entropy (Noun)
Meaning 1
(communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome; "the signal contained thousands of bits of information".
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
Examples
- The concept of entropy in communication theory was introduced by Claude Shannon to measure the uncertainty of an information source.
- In a noisy channel, the entropy of the received signal will be higher than the entropy of the original signal due to errors.
- To estimate the entropy of a text, you can use frequency analysis of the characters and their combinations.
- The information entropy of the message is calculated based on the probability distribution of the symbols used in the encoding scheme.
- The source entropy is a measure of the amount of information produced by a source, which is essential in defining the minimum rate required for data transmission.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
(thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work; "entropy increases as matter and energy in the universe degrade to an ultimate state of inert uniformity".
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
Examples
- The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system always increases over time as energy is transferred from one place to another.
- The car engine converts chemical energy from the gasoline into mechanical work, but some of the energy is lost as entropy due to friction and heat.
- As the universe ages, the entropy continues to increase, leading to a gradual decrease in the overall organization and complexity of matter and energy.
- The change in entropy of a system can be calculated by measuring the heat transferred during a reversible process at a constant temperature.
- High-efficiency power plants minimize energy loss as entropy by optimizing operating temperatures and pressures to reduce waste heat and conserve useful work.