Difference in meaning

[delanvital]

I am a bit puzzled...

Entropy and atrophy... What is really the difference? When looking at both words at dictionary.com I can see minor differences, but the stuff I am reading is using them both a lot and I get the impression they have minor differences...?:blink: I am puzzled... Both deals with decay.

[KKND]

Google.?

[Anonymous]

Atrophy
if something atrophies then it wastes away - a muscle can atrophy if you have a limb in plaster for a long time.

Entropy
Entropy is a measure of the amount of disorder (chaos) that there is in a system and is usually associated with thermodynamics. The amount of entropy in the universe is always increasing (if I remember my degree course properly)

hope this helps?

[Dr Sadako]

Atrophy
if something atrophies then it wastes away - a muscle can atrophy if you have a limb in plaster for a long time.
 
Entropy
Entropy is a measure of the amount of disorder (chaos) that there is in a system and is usually associated with thermodynamics. The amount of entropy in the universe is always increasing (if I remember my degree course properly)
 
hope this helps?

:withstupid:

[delanvital]

It cannot be the meaning of entropy that fits the article I am reading. Later inspection of the article could lead to the definition "institutional entropy" vs. atrophy...

Hm.. it is probably the 4th definition of ehtropy from dictionary.com: "a doctrine of inevitable social decline and degeneration", but within institutions, which could be seen as a specific case of atrophy in general? Damn. Why all these fancy words...:doh:

[Anonymous]

"institutional entropy" sounds like one of those phrases made up by somebody that didn't understand the words properly. It's like "quantum leap" being applied to huge increases in knowledge, a quantum leap is actually damn small!

[Blunt]

My kids use entropy as an exciuse not to tidy up:sideways:

[T-Bag]

Atrophy
if something atrophies then it wastes away - a muscle can atrophy if you have a limb in plaster for a long time.

Entropy
Entropy is a measure of the amount of disorder (chaos) that there is in a system and is usually associated with thermodynamics. The amount of entropy in the universe is always increasing (if I remember my degree course properly)

hope this helps?

Yes thats right Entropy can never decrease. Best remembered by thinking of two rooms with different gases in with a wall between. When the wall is taken away they will mix. But there will never be a time when once mixed they will go back to being unmixed by themselves.

As for the meaning of that article. It sounds like institutional entropy is about the decline within the institution as you said.
Is there an Abstract you can post we could try to decifer for you? (50-100 word summary) that might be of help.

[Anonymous]

My kids use entropy as an exciuse not to tidy up:sideways:

but you should know that entropy in a child's room can never decrease by very definition of the word

[Dr Sadako]

My kids use entropy as an exciuse not to tidy up:sideways:

Say the same to them about their allowance. :boxing:

[delanvital]

Yes thats right Entropy can never decrease. Best remembered by thinking of two rooms with different gases in with a wall between. When the wall is taken away they will mix. But there will never be a time when once mixed they will go back to being unmixed by themselves.

As for the meaning of that article. It sounds like institutional entropy is about the decline within the institution as you said.
Is there an Abstract you can post we could try to decifer for you? (50-100 word summary) that might be of help.

It is in paper and I am too lazy to type it in... I will go with the the definition so far, and keep the others in the back of my mind - and see how the stuff adds up.

Edit: Cheers for bothering guys.

[Blunt]

Say the same to them about their allowance. :boxing:

They don't get allowances, Thay got jobs:learn: