Thermodynamics : Entropy will increase in a closed system.
Evolution : Hold My bear
why tho?!
In: 0
First I think it’s that entropy grows in an isolated system, while it can go either way in a closed one. A closed system can have decreasing entropy as long as the total entropy of the universe goes up. Evolution, and every other process that increases the local degree of order, expends energy and doing so the increase in entropy in the universe is greater than the decrease caused by the complexity reached by organisms. Oftentimes these processes accelerate universe entropy so they’re in perfect accordance with the principles of thermodynamics
You aren’t looking at the full system, the earth is not isolated: The earth is receiving 10^26 joules of energy every second from our big old entropy generator in the sky, our sun. Life can use that radiant energy to increase order locally, just not more than the disorder that the sun itself causes.
The easiest way for me to think about it is that life is increasing in complexity, from the first single cell animals to the human brain.
Veritasium just did a great video on entropy, its worth a watch.
[Veritasium: Entropy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxL2HoqLbyA)
Earth isn’t a closed system. We receive lots of low entropy from the sun. That’s how we can sustain life.
*Net* entropy will increase in a closed system. We can decrease entropy locally at the expense of a larger local increase somewhere else. In this case life used energy input from the sun to organize life (the decrease) at the expense of the energy production of the sun (a massive increase).
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