The_Walrus wrote:
Oldavid wrote:
The_Walrus wrote:
Have you ever heard of enthalpy?
The theoretical maximum amount of energy that can be produced or absorbed by a reversible (chemical) process? What has that to do with the creation of order?
Entropy and enthalpy are intrinsically linked.
The universe tends towards entropy, but reactions in which entropy decreases are still energetically viable if the drop in enthalpy makes up for that. See
here.
Life is an exercise in making reactions more efficient so that enthalpy changes allow entropy to decrease.
For example, proteins are more stable than amino acids or primitive polypeptides. Assembling proteins from RNA code is more efficient than just hoping they assemble without a plan. Then DNA is better than RNA, because you've got an extra strand for redundancy and it's less reactive (hence "deoxy").
Hmm. An almost clever slight-of-mind to trick the unwary.
That energy (and thus potential) can be transferred from one system to another (as in blowing up a motor car tyre) does not imply, or cause, an overall decrease in entropy, nor does a localised increase in energy potential imply, or cause, a spontaneous creation of order.
Also, that real scientists and engineers intelligently come up with ways to minimise losses in energy transfers does not imply that entropy can be made non-existent or reversed.
Real science is not trickery. Nonscience is all trickery.