Managing the chaos The science of Entropy and its impact on our lives Chris Collison Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Dreamland? 1967 testimony before Senate subcommittee indicated that by 1985 –Work week of 22 hours, or –27 working weeks per year, or –Retire for good at 38 Computers, satellites, robotics – “Productivity boosting machines” Why did this not happen?

1966 Pontiac Bonneville GE Dishwasher Thor Washing Machine

Inspired by…

Outline Quantifying Chaos –Entropy’s history –Entropy in Thermodynamics –Entropy in Chemistry –How do we define entropy? Entropy in our daily lives.

Entropy in our daily lives In the home Automotives Technology Education

Driving Forces of Nature Energy Entropy Process will occur when Energy is decreased, or when Entropy is increased.

1 st – Let’s consider Energy Laws of Thermodynamics - laws we must live by Energy Cannot be Created or Destroyed –Impossibility of perpetual motion machines Why is energy important to us? Where does all our energy come from?

The pump? is.kroh.net/archives/ jpg&imgrefurl= vis.kroh.net/archives/2004_07.phtml&h=480&w=64 0&sz=80&tbnid=UcAhptm- pcUPHM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3 Fq%3Dgas%2Bpump&start=2&sa=X&oi=images& ct=image&cd=2

The Sun? But how can we store this solar energy? 13,RNWE:en&um=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title

Energy storage

Energy “Consumption and Production” Stored energy in fossil fuels provides us with our energy needs. And energy demand? Data from

Growing economies require more energy Energy demand is increasing Data from

Cost of Energy (Electricity) What is our expenditure limited to? What is our efficiency limited to? Where does chaos come in? Data from

Two Kinds of Energy Ordered Energy – Work done Disordered Energy – Heat –Increased vibrations, translations of microscopic particles How are they linked?

Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (June 1, August 24, 1832) Scientific study of the steam engine Efficiency in early stages of engine development was mere 3%. Carnot showed that efficiency of an engine design is always limited to about 40%. %C3%A9onard_Sadi_Carnot

Carnot Cycle Hot gas expands, doing work Gas compressed to original state Net energy = 0 Work done enclosed in curve Heat in = Work done + Heat out

Entropy in Thermodynamics Entropy’s effect is that –Heat  work requires taking heat from a hot source and depositing waste heat to a cold reservoir Efficiency is given by Efficiency is not 100% So how do we increase efficiency? What impact has this on electricity generation?

Coal Power Stations Combustion efficiency is 99.5% But heat  electricity (consumer) is 30-37% with a pulverized coal burner Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle power plants give higher efficiencies Supercritical boilers give efficiencies in the 40%’s. (Again, global efficiency of getting electricity to consumer from the coal). Electric conversion (Transformers, transport) is some 90% Data from

So why are we fundamentally Limited? Entropy and 2 nd Law of thermodynamics restrict us Lord Kelvin stated: mechanical work that could have been harnessed is “irrecoverably lost to man” William Thomson 1st Baron Kelvin

Kelvin and Clausius “It is impossible to build an engine that operates on a cycle whose net effect is the cooling of a heat-reservoir and the raising of a weight” We can’t take heat out of the ocean to power an ocean liner Rudolph Clausius Heat engines: Hot  Cold, with waste heat

Ordered energy? Work considered as “ordered” Heat energy is considered disordered Only so much ordered energy we can take from disordered energy A hot bath is only pleasant while the water is hot A luke warm bath has as much attraction as an ice cold bath – this “warmth” is irrecoverable

Inefficiency Power stations are inefficient because –Disordered energy must be converted to ordered energy –We are pushing against nature’s tendency towards disorder

Can we use Entropy to our advantage in Thermodynamics? Fridges to heat our homes –Heat is useful in winter –Work (electricity) is used to move heat from inside the fridge to outside the fridge –Ordered energy is ultimately converted to disordered energy

Taking this idea further… How about building a fridge to cool down the ground? Heating Cycle, Geothermal Technology - WFI GlobalHeating Cycle, Geothermal Technology - WFI Global Cooling Cycle, Geothermal Technology - WFI GlobalCooling Cycle, Geothermal Technology - WFI Global But again…What really is Entropy?

Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann February 20, 1844 – September 5, 1906 Boltzmann was the hero of statistical mechanics and “microstates”

Statistically… Entropy might be defined as the number of microstates (configurations) that are available to the system –Where S = Entropy –k B is Boltzmann’s constant (1.38×10 −23 J K −1 ) –W is the number of microstates corresponding to the “observed macrostate” Let’s look at an example…

An unbound thesis of 3 pages is blown by a freak gust of wind It lands in a corner of the courtyard all pages face up! Still in order? 3 pages  3! = 6 possible combinations – – – ordered microstate, 5 disordered microstates Likely to be disordered for probability reasons Yet change in entropy is low, albeit positive

Let’s now consider 200 pages 1 ordered microstate, 7.9 x disordered microstates For ordered thesis, S=0 For disordered thesis S=1.2 x JK -1 mol -1 But Entropy difference is so small? What’s the fuss all about?

200 pages versus 6.02 x atoms 1 x water molecules in a can of soda Hence Entropy is very important to chemists. Chemists “take ownership” perhaps

Summing up! Entropy is degree of disorder Entropy is a driving force for spontaneous events Higher Entropy is inevitable –Universe started in a very low entropy state –Extremely low probability Entropy can be calculated using probability and statistics. So how does Entropy impact our daily lives?

A picture of order Ease of chaos versus the hard work of order

Chaos continues

“Rebuilding”

War in Iraq Ease of destruction, regime change Difficulty of rebuilding Should we have known better? Doesn’t Entropy aid in our predictions? Where else do we see entropy? Choice!

Choice – the American necessity Choice of –Healthcare –pasta sauce –Cereal –energy provider –retirement plan Of course this is good for “competition” but complexity leads to an increase in entropy! Pasta Sauce

Choices, Choices, choices So what are the costs and benefits and where does entropy fit in?

The system and the surroundings Carnot Cycle tells us we must observe –The heat engine (the system) –The Surroundings When we consider entropy of pasta sauce we must consider The Benefits (the system) –Pricing pressure through competition –Getting the right sauce for our taste buds The Costs (The surroundings)…

Global Costs of Choice – Pasta sauce For each brand: –Marketing –Distribution –Quality control –Supply of raw ingredients For me: –Making an educated decision (working through the brands) –Risk of making the wrong choice Remember: Entropy always increases

Back to our dreamland… 1967 testimony before Senate subcommittee indicated that by 1985 –Work week of 22 hours, or –27 working weeks per year, or –Retire for good at 38 Computers, satellites, robotics – “Productivity boosting machines” Why did this not happen?

The total equation Remember - Laws of thermodynamics compels us to look at the total equation – not just the “system” Let’s look at some examples… –Computers –Automobiles Surely technological advances reduce chaos and promote efficiency Let’s have a look…

Computer vs. Abacus Speed but cost is production facility R&D expensive – Moore’s law How much is the industry worth? Worldwide Photolithography Capital spending in 2001 was $39.1Billion –(Deutsche Bank “There’s Moore to Come Global Equity Research document, 2001)

What matters most Total entropy increase in a thermodynamic system Silicon chip manufacture requires –“gases, chemicals, and solvents –These become part of our environment –Increases the entropy of our planet One 15cm silicon wafer (a few dozen chips) requires: –9kg of liquid chemicals, –6m 3 gases –8,610 liters of water (Aaron Sachs, “Virtual Ecology,” World Watch, January/February 1999, p.16)

IT Support Bugs Adware Viruses Crashes Verizon ads – It’s the network

Cars vs. Horse and Buggy Roads, highways, bridges, parking lots required –Maintenance (potholes, rust, snowplowing) Bodily harm, property damage –Insurance policies Automobile emissions –Lung, eye, generalhealth problems –Environmental Protection Agency, regulations, bureaucracies Fuel infrastructure Who pays for this apparent time saving device? What does this time saving device cost us?

Cars Car repair –Trained mechanic –Shop computer for engine checking Computer needs maintenance and software –State inspections/DMV/bureaucracy More gadgets – more complex car repair Commercials of course do not mention thermodynamics – they show you the car of your dreams!

Some other issues Time sapping VCR/DVRs George Foreman Grill –too tough to clean Spam…

Spam s, resumes, advertisements –easy to write –send en-masse Monster.com –send resumes to all jobs advertised Electronic searching of resumes now required! –No interview because of incorrect buzz-words

Mycourses- professors that send more s out In the past we had to contact you in class – you had to listen in class! Now professors can send out mass announcements that don’t get read because you’re spending all your time deleting other “spam” This is called entropy of the written word! While we’re on the subject…

Proliferation of information Blogs, podcast, print media, tv, radio, web media Importance of Google, Yahoo, etc – search engines! Where can we make money as entrepreneurs in the war against entropy?? –Waste Management –Data mining –Surveys/statistics

What type of disorder exists in your world? Entropy in Education…

Entropy of education Specialization Separation of disciplines Finding your niche General science still has a huge part to play. So what’s the solution? Can we win the war on entropy? Let’s stay with education to think about what we can do…

Practical philosophy High entropy lifestyle –high production, consumption, obsolescence –We’ll ultimately pay a high price Laws of thermodynamics can be used by educators as a focal point for unification of knowledge Solution – teach values that are in conformity with the laws of nature

Let’s talk together about entropy Not pollution Not socioeconomic disorders Not environmental concerns Not global warming We can talk collectively (reporters, politicians, parents, educators) about how all of these problems are linked by entropy

Now, go clean your room…

Thank you for your attention. Questions?