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Entropy is the loss of energy available to do work. ¹⁾

In the process of increasing entropy, one unusual outcome is that matter may become more organized:

• As in the case of gravity, where gas clouds collapse and form stars.
• As in the case of weather, where a hurricane forms because of heat dissipation from the earth.
• As in the case of crystalline ice, as heat transfers from the warmer water to the cooler air.
• As in the creation of life, where RNA molecules became catalysts that break down complex molecules in replicating themselves.

Is it possible, that entropy is a drive for creating organized formations? Organization forms because it speeds up the process of creating entropy?

One answer: “Entropy is the tendency for heat energy to become evenly distributed over time in a closed, isolated system. Entropy can be quantified and that is what makes it a useful concept in physics. The concepts of order vs disorder, organization vs chaos, determined vs random, these are mental operations, human judgment on the state of affairs of a condition and cannot be quantified nor is there any useful application in physics. You can measure and talk about the distribution of heat energy and its tendency toward even distribution, but you cannot measure the degree of order of a system; that is our judgment, not a feature of physical reality.” ²⁾

Entropy drives the consumption of potential energy, but is there a law that chooses the route by which the consumption takes place? Or is the route governed by natural phenomena already categorized into existing laws?

I wonder if there was a way to predict organized formations because of their propensity to increase the rate of entropy. Then one can say with certainty: “Life formed because life was great at increasing entropy.”

Entropy potential intertwined with potential energy.

Scientists are trying to make computer models of molecular interactions, such as the 3 dimensional folding of proteins, which requires a lot of statistical analysis regarding the chance of formation. Eventually, maybe the conditions required for the formation of life can be modeled. Maybe new theories will form as we continue to explore.

Update 2024: A video from a year ago with someone else who thought along the same lines: The Most Misunderstood Concept in Physics, by Veritasium on YouTube.