Environmental

Quantification

Seminar Series

Entropy and Society - 混乱指数简介

June 7, 2008 7:30-9:00 pm

Green Think Tank Head Quarter4 Lansing Square, Suite 203, North York, ON

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Mr. Stephen Hung

• University of Toronto, Chemical Engineering

• Major US multinational corporations: Exxon Mobile and Dow Chemical

• Marketing and management• C.E.O. and/or Regional General Manager

in Greater China: multinationals Kraft Foods, Clorox and GlaxoSmithKline >15 years.

• Both science and business

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ENTROPY & SOCIETY

Stephen HungJune 7, 2008

WHAT IS ENTROPY?

• The 1st & 2nd laws of thermodynamics

• Concepts of Energy, Heat, & Work

ENERGY

ENERGY IS THE ABILITY TO DO SOME WORK

HEAT

HEAT IS NOT A SUBSTANCE, BUT THE TRANSFERAL OF ENERGY RESULTING FROM THE INTERACTION OF A HOT & COLD SUBJECT (E.G. ICE & HOT COFFEE)

WORK

WORK IS A FORCE THAT ACTS THROUGH DISPLACEMENT (E.G. WEIGHT LIFTING)

THE 1ST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS

• ENERGY CAN NEITHER BE CREATED FROM NOTHING, NOR DESTROYED, BUT MERELY CONVERTED FROM ONE FORM TO ANOTHER. (ALSO CALLED THE LAW OF ENERGY CONSERVATION).

• E.G. HEAT CAN BE CONVERTED INTO WORK (E.G. COAL-FIRED POWER TURBINE), AND WORK INTO HEAT (E.G. ELECTRICAL OVEN).

IMPLICATIONS OF THE 1ST LAW

• IF A SYSTEM PERFORMS WORK, ITS INTERNAL ENERGY WILL DECREASE. (ENERGY CONSERVATION)

• THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINE (IT PRODUCES MORE ENERGY THAN THE AMOUNT REQ’D TO KEEP IT RUNNING (E.G. WATERWHEELS).

• FOSSIL FUELS IN THIS PLANET WILL BE DEPLETED EVENTURALLY – IT’S A MATTER OF WHEN.

THE 2ND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS

• “ENTROPY” IN A SYSTEM, A MEASURE OF DISORDER OR RANDOMNESS, IS ALWAYS INCREASING TO ITS MAXIMUM LEVEL.

• IN THERMODYNAMIC TERMS, THE TENDENCY TOWARDS A GREATER DEGREE OF ENERGY DISPERSAL IS CALLED AN INCREASE IN ENTROPY.

• THE TERM WAS COINED BY A GERMAN PHYSICIST NAMED RUDOLPH CLAUSIUS IN 1850, BASED ON THE GREEK WORD FOR “TRANSFORMATION.”

UNDERSTANDING ENTROPY

• “ENTROPY”, SYNONYMOUS WITH “CHAO” OR “DISORDER”, REFERS MEASURE OF THE DISPERSAL OF ENERGY, AT A CERTAIN TEMPERATURE.

SOLID

LIQUID

GAS

EN

TR

OP

Y

TEMPERATURE

ICE

WATER

STEAM

AS TEMP INCR & MATTER CHANGES FM SOLID TO LIQ TO GAS, CONFIGURATION OF THE MATTER’S MOLECULES CHANGES FM TIGHTLY PACKED TO LOOSELY ARRANGED, UNTIL THEY BEGIN TO DIFFUSE.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE 2ND LAW

• FOR ORDER TO BE CREATED IN ONE PART OF A SYSTEM, ORDER MUST BE DESTROYED (CHAO) SOMEWHERE ELSE.

• “THE ARROW OF TIME” - NATURAL PROCESSES ARE IRREVERSIBLE. EVENTS PROCEED IN THE DIRECTION FAVORED BY ENTROPY, AND ENTROPY IS CONSTANTLY INCREASING. E.G. SUGAR CUBE DISSOLVED INTO COFFEE WILL NOT SPONTANEOUSLY CHANGE BACK TO CUBE.

PUTTING ENTROPY INTO PERSPECTIVE(PART I)

• THE TOTAL ENTROPY IN THE UNIVERSE (A CLOSED SYSTEM) IS ALWAYS INCREASING TO ITS MAXIMUM LEVEL. THUS, IN OUR GALAXY, THE SUN POWERS ORDER CREATION (LIFE) ON EARTH, ALL OF THAT LIFE & ACTIVITY CREATE HEAT, WHICH IS RADIATED BACK INTO SPACE TO CAUSE DISORDER (INCREASING ENTROPY) – CAUSES FOR NATURAL CALAMITIES?

• BIG BANG – OUR KNOWN UNIVERSE (100 BN GALAXIES) – MILKY WAY GALAXY (>200 BN STARS) – BIG CRUNCH (OUR FATE)??

PUTTING ENTROPY INTO

PERSPECTIVE (PART II)

• MODERN SOCIETIES NEED FOSSIL FUELS & OTHER NATURAL SOURCES TO POWER THE FIGHT AGAINST ENTROPY & CREATE ORDER (INDUSTRIALIZED & MODERN LIFE-STYLE), WHILE EXPORT’G CHAO OR DISORDER BACK INTO THE UNIVERSE IN THE FORM OF PULLTION, GREENHOUSE GAS, & HEAT.

• INT’L TRADE ALLOWS SOME COUNTRIES TO IMPORT ENERGY & RESOURCES (CREATE ORDER), WHILE EXPORT’G CHAOS TO THE OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD. (ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES)

• GLOBALIZATION BRINGS ORDER (INDUSTRIALIZATION & URBANIZATION) TO SOME NATIONS, WHILE CREATING A WHOLE RANGE OF ECONOMICAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL, HEALTH & ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES IN THE OTHER. (E.G. INCOME DISTRIBUTION, DICTATORSHIP, WAR/GENOCIDE, PLAGUE/PANDEMIC, FOOD CRISIS, ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION/MAN-MADE CALAMITIES...)

ENTROPY IS RISING…

• ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL WARMING/CLIMATE CHANGE? WHAT INDEED IS CLIMATE? IS THE CURRENT CLIMATE OPTIMAL? WHAT MAKES IT “GOOD” ? AND WHAT, IF ANYTHING, CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT?

• HUMANS DESTROYING THE PLANET? THERE’VE BEEN MASS EXTINCTIONS IN EARTH’S HISTORY – AND “LIFE” SURVIVED ALONG WITH THE PLANET.

• EARTH HAS TIME. BUT HUMAN DON’T. THE VERSION OF THE PLANET THAT MAKES OUR EXTISTENCE POSSIBLE HAS BEEN COMPRIMISED. CAN WE DO IT? WILL WE?

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

• A SENSE OF URGENCY FROM ALL OF OUR POLITICAL LEADERS & GOVENRMENTS TO WORK TOGETHER.

• REDUCE POPULATION GROWTH TO ZERO OR NEGATIVE.

• DAMPEN CONSUMERISM; PROMOTE CONSERVATION & ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

• INCENTIVISE DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY (E.G. WIND, SOLAR, NUCLEAR).