if a physical system is not already in the highest-entropy state available, it is overwhelmingly likely that it will evolve toward it. The explanation, illustrated well by the bread’s aroma, rests on the most basic reasoning: because the number of configurations with more entropy is enormously greater than those with less entropy (by the very definition of entropy), the odds are enormously larger that random jostling—the relentless bumping and vibrating of atoms and molecules—will drive the system toward higher entropy, not lower. The progression will continue until we reach a configuration
...more
