12	Law and disorder Second Law of Thermodynamics

 

 

 

 

What does it say?

The amount of disorder in a thermodynamic system always increases.

Why is that important?

It places limits on how much useful work can be extracted from heat.

What did it lead to?

Better steam engines, estimates of the efficiency of renewable energy, the ‘heat death of the universe’ scenario, proof that matter is made of atoms, and paradoxical connections with the arrow of time.