In the Classroom

Entropy Is Simple, Qualitatively

Frank L. Lambert†
2834 Lewis Drive, La Verne, CA 91750; [email protected]

Qualitatively, entropy is simple. What it is, why it is so bond energies compared to water, yet they will react explo-
useful in understanding the behavior of macro systems or of sively to dissipate some of that internal energy in forming
molecular systems is easy to state. The key to simplicity has the lower energy water if a spark is introduced.
been mentioned by chemists and physicists.1 In classical ther- In these six varied examples, and in all everyday sponta-
modynamics, it is viewing entropy increase as a measure of neous physical happenings and chemical reactions, some type
the dispersal of energy from localized to spread out (as in of energy flows from being localized or concentrated to be-
the examples of the next section). In “molecular thermody- coming spread out to a larger space. This common language
namics” it is considering the change in systems from having summary will be given precise descriptions in thermodynam-
fewer accessible microstates to having many more accessible ics and in molecular behavior later.
microstates (as described in later sections). Most important In most spontaneous chemical reactions the products
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to educators, emphasizing energy dispersal can provide a di- that are formed have lower potential energies than the start-
rect relationship of molecular behavior to entropy change, ing materials. Thus, as a result of such a reaction, some of
an idea that can be readily understood by beginning college the reactants’ bond energy is dispersed to cause increased
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students. molecular motion in the products. Less common at room

This view was broached partially in previous articles that temperatures (but routine in blast furnace conditions) are
showed “disorder” was outmoded and misleading as a descrip- endothermic reactions. In this kind of reaction, substances
tor for entropy (1, 2). The present article substantiates the (alone or with others) react so that energy from the more-
power of seeing entropy as the “spreading and sharing” of concentrated-energy surroundings is dispersed to the bonds and
energy (theoretically established by Leff [3a] ) in classical and motions of the molecules of the less-concentrated-energy sub-
molecular thermodynamics in important equilibrium situa- stances in a system. The result is the formation of new sub-
tions and chemical processes. stances with higher potential energies than their starting
The preceding introduction in no way denies the subtlety materials.
or the difficulty of many aspects of thermodynamics involv- Parallel with the behavior of energy in chemical phenom-
ing entropy. In numerous cases the theory or calculation or ena is its dispersal in all spontaneous physical events, whether
experimental determination of entropy change can be over- they are complex and exotic, or as simple and too common
whelming even to graduate students and challenging to ex- as a car collision.2
perts. In complex cases, the qualitative relation of energy
dispersal to entropy change can be so inextricably obscured Entropy Change: The Index of Energy Dispersal
that it is moot. However, this does not weaken its explana- Clausius’ definition of entropy change, dS = dqrev/T,
tory power in the common thermodynamic examples pre- could be expressed verbally as “entropy change = quantity of
sented to beginning students, nor in using energy dispersal energy dispersed at a temperature T ”. Clausius’ synonym for
to introduce them to spontaneous change in chemistry. entropy was Verwandlung, transformation. This definition
does not imply that entropy is “disorder”, nor that it is a mea-
An Overview: What Entropy Change Is sure of “disorder”, nor that entropy is a driving force. In-
stead, the reason for transformation in classical
The Dispersal of Energy2 thermodynamics is energy’s dissipating, dispersing, spread-
A hot pan spontaneously disperses some of its energy to ing out from where it is confined in a small space to a larger
the cooler air of a room. Conversely, even a cool room would volume whenever it is not restricted from doing so. Entropy
disperse a portion of its energy to colder ice cubes placed in is the measure or the index of energy dispersal at a tempera-
it. When a container of nitroglycerine is merely dropped on ture T .
the floor, the nitroglycerine may change into other substances
explosively, because some of its internal bond energy is spread The Molecular Basis for Understanding Simple Entropy
out in increasing the vigorous motions of the molecules in Change (3a, 4)
the gaseous products. At a high pressure in a car tire, the com- The difference between Figure 1A and B is symbolic of a
pressed air tends to blow out and dissipate its more concen- transition of a molecule from a lower translational (t), or ro-
trated energy to the lower pressure atmosphere. At any tational (r), or vibrational (v) energy level to a considerably
pressure, ideal gases will spontaneously flow into an evacu- higher level of the same kind of motion.
ated chamber, spreading the energy of their molecular mo- The energy differences between levels in a truly accu-
tions over the final larger volume. Hydrogen and oxygen in rate depiction would be quantized from specific spectral lines.
a closed chamber will remain unchanged for years and prob- Yet, Figure 1 is even more profoundly inaccurate than its ar-
ably for millennia, despite their greater combined internal bitrary line spacing. Modern descriptions of molecular ener-
getics come from quantum mechanics and the Schrödinger
equation. Wave functions of the Schrödinger equation for
†
Professor Emeritus, Occidental College, Department of Chem- molecules that are quantified in microstates inseparably com-
istry, Los Angeles, CA 90041. bine two disparate qualities: energy, and the probability of po-

JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 79 No. 10 October 2002 • Journal of Chemical Education 1241

 In the Classroom

3 Energy
Energy
2

1
Smaller Larger
A B
Volume Volume

Figure 1. Microstate (single-particle) at (A) lower temperature and Figure 2. Microstate (multi-particle) in a smaller volume compared
(B) higher temperature. to an equal energy microstate of the same system in a larger vol-
ume. The original energy becomes more dispersed.

sition in space of the molecules. Thus, although Figure 1 could ticular macrostate. Because the number of microstates deter-
be said to represent microstates, it is not an adequate sche- mines the number of ways that the total energy of a
matic because it shows only energy relationships; it omits the macrostate can be spread out, any change that leads to a
absolutely non-separable space occupation that is integral in the greater number of microstates means that there is greater dis-
mathematics. persion of the energy in a system, that is, an increase in its
Therefore, Figure 1A and B, an attempt to show the en- entropy.
ergy change between two microstates, is really only symbolic Therefore, when a substance is heated, its entropy in-
of microstates because the likelihood of locations in space of creases because the energy acquired and that previously within
the molecule is not shown. (The location is tacitly unchanged it can be far more dispersed than before among the many
between A and B.) With this omission understood in any newly accessible microstates associated with the molecules of
such diagram of a microstate, Figure 1A can be considered the substance. A simplified statement would be that there
as the microstate of a molecule at a moderate temperature are many more microstates available for energy dispersal. (The
with t, r, and v total energies corresponding to a quantum common comment “heating causes or favors molecular dis-
energy level, arbitrarily numbered 1. The molecule cannot order” is an anthropomorphic labeling of molecular behav-
“access” the higher quantum levels arbitrarily numbered 2 to ior that has more flaws than utility) (1).
5 (i.e., they are not “available” to it) because the molecule’s When the volume of a gas is increased by isothermal ex-
energy simply is not great enough to correspond to those lev- pansion into a vacuum, an entropy increase occurs, although
els. However, if the single-molecule system of 1A is heated, not for the same reason as when a gas or other substance is
the additional energy—dependent on the quanta involved— heated. There is no energy change in such an expansion of
allows the molecule’s energy to be on any one of the several the gas; dq is zero. Instead, there is an increase in the density
higher energy quantum levels 2 to 5, including that shown of the microstates in the gas. As symbolically shown in Fig-
in Figure 1B. With the addition of energy, those variations ure 2, when a gas expands into a vacuum, the number of
of Figure 1B are then said to be available or accessible or oc- microstates increases in any small energy range of the origi-
cupiable microstates. nal volume when a larger volume is available. For those mol-
Although it is symbolic only of a single particle’s behav- ecules whose energy is associated with that particular energy
ior, the example below can serve as a guide to what happens range, this results in an increased dispersion of their original
in the enormous group of molecules in a macro system. When energy because it can now be spread out to a greater number
a mole of a substance is heated, the 1023 molecules (~N) are of microstates than before the gas expanded. Because of such
able to access many microstates that they could not before. an increase in energy dispersal, the entropy of the system in-
This is why energy so readily disperses in substances that are creases. Entropy increases as volume increases—but not sim-
cooler than their warm surroundings: there is such an enor- ply because there is more space for the molecules!
mously greater number of microstates possible in the cooler When two dissimilar ideal gases or liquids mix, the same
material that the energy transferred to its molecules can “ac- phenomenon pertains as that for gas expansion: There is an
cess” and thereby become more spread out. increase in entropy because of the increased density of
microstates in the larger volume available to each. Each sub-
Example. When one mole of water at 273 K is warmed
stance can spread the energy associated with its molecules
by its surroundings just to 274 K, there is an increase of
more widely, among more microstates.
1010,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (100.01N ) times the number of
microstates in the 273 K water—whose macrostate itself
Simple Entropy Changes
corresponds to an incomprehensible 10 to an exponent
with 24 zeros (103.3N ) of microstates. (Such enormous The Entropy of a Substance at a Temperature, T
numbers of microstates can best be sensed comparatively
The entropy of a substance at any temperature T is not
as exponents denoted by a power in N.)
complex or mysterious. It is simply a measure of the total
According to Boltzmann’s relationship, S = kB ln Wmax quantity of energy that had to be dispersed within the sub-
(or Ω) , where kB is Boltzmann’s constant and Wmax (or Ω) is stance from 0 K to T so the substance could exist as a solid
the count of how many microstates correspond to the par- or liquid or gas at the designated temperature. Because the

1242 Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 79 No. 10 October 2002 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu

 In the Classroom

lutely nothing to do with the mixing itself of either” (8, ital-

ics as in the original). Ideal gases or liquids mix spontane-
ously in their combined greater volumes because then their
original energy is more dispersed in the new situation of more
dense microstates. Their entropy increases.
Colligative Properties
“Escaping tendency” or chemical potential involving
Cp graphs that are complex to a beginner are often used to ex-
T plain the freezing point depression and boiling point eleva-
tion of solutions. These topics can be far more clearly
discussed by first describing the entropy change that occurs
when non-volatile solutes are added to a solvent. Parallel to
liquid the increase in the density of microstates and thus their greater
solid gas accessibility when one fluid is mixed with another, the
microstates of solvent molecules in a solution are more dense
than those of the pure solvent. Thus, in a solution a solvent’s
T
energy is more dispersed and its entropy is increased as com-
Figure 3. The Cp/T vs T from 0 K for a substance. The area under pared to the pure solvent. (This is the fundamental basis for
the curve (plus q/T at any phase change) is the entropy of the sub- a solvent’s decreased “escaping tendency” when it is in a so-
stance at T. lution. If the energy within the solvent in a solution is less
localized, more spread out, the solvent tends less to escape
to another phase.)
heat capacity at a given temperature is the energy dispersed Consider a most common example of water: Because of
in a substance per unit temperature, integration from 0 K to its greater entropy in a solution, liquid water containing a
T of 兰Cp/T dT (+ q/T for any phase change) yields the total solute that is insoluble in ice is not at equilibrium with solid
entropy. This result, of course, is equivalent to the area un- ice at 273 K. Somehow, the more-dispersed energy in the
der the curve to T in Figure 3. water of the solution must be decreased for the water to
change to ice. Although the cause of the greater dispersion—
Phase Change: Fusion and Vaporization the increased density of solvent microstates in the solution—
To change a solid to a liquid at its melting point requires cannot be altered, the accessibility or occupancy of those
a large quantity of energy to be dispersed from the warmer microstates can be decreased by decreasing the energy of the
surroundings to the equilibrium mixture. This energy trans- water molecules. Lowering the temperature of the surround-
fer is needed for the existence of the liquid state because of ings causes energy from the solution to be dispersed to the
the far greater number of microstates of rotation and trans- surroundings. When that is done, the decrease in energy in
lation among which energy can and must be spread out than the solution compensates for the greater spreading out of the
in the solid. The fusion process is isothermal (unlike warm- water’s energy in the solution, and the water reaches ther-
ing a solid below its melting point) until a sufficient number modynamic equilibrium for crystallization to ice at a low-
of microstates in the equilibrium mixture correspond to the ered temperature. As energy (the enthalpy of fusion)
liquid macrostate and all solid has been converted to liquid. continues to be dispersed to the surroundings, the liquid
The entropy increase in this isothermal dissipation of energy water freezes.
from the surroundings is ∆Hfusion/T. Similar considerations The elevation of boiling points of solutions having a non-
of increasing the number of accessible microstates apply to volatile solute is as readily rationalized as is freezing point
changing a liquid at its boiling point to a vapor: this requires depression. The more dispersed energy (and greater entropy)
energy dispersal from the surroundings to the liquid at an of a solvent in the solution means that the expected thermo-
entropy increase of ∆Hvaporization/T. dynamic equilibrium (the equivalence of the solvent’s vapor
pressure with atmospheric pressure) cannot exist at the
The Expansion of a Gas into a Vacuum. solvent’s normal boiling point. For example, the energy in
The Mixing of Ideal Fluids. water in a solution at 373 K is more widely dispersed among
The entropy effects in gas expansion into a vacuum, as its microstates than is pure water at 373 K. There is a lesser
described previously, are qualitatively similar to gases mix- tendency for water molecules to leave a solution for the va-
ing or liquids mixing. The original energy of a constituent por phase than from pure water. Energy must be transferred
can be more dispersed in the new larger volume because the from the surroundings to an aqueous solution to increase its
density of its microstates increases and therefore more energy content, thereby compensating for the greater disper-
microstates become accessible. Thus, the process is sponta- sion of the water’s energy due to its being in a solution, and
neous and the entropy increases (5, 6). As Craig has well said, raise the vapor pressure of that water in the solution. As en-
“The ‘entropy of mixing’ might better be called the ‘entropy ergy is dispersed to the solution from the surroundings and
of dilution’” (7a). Meyer vigorously pointed toward this, stat- the temperature rises above 373 K, at some point a new equi-
ing that “the spontaneity of processes generally described as librium temperature for phase transition is reached. Because
‘mixing’, that is, combination of two different gases initially the vapor pressure of the water in the solution now equals
each at pressure, p, and finally at total pressure, p, has abso- the atmospheric pressure, the solvent water boils.

JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 79 No. 10 October 2002 • Journal of Chemical Education 1243

 In the Classroom

Osmosis entropy function—the total entropy change associated with

a reaction, not simply the entropy change in a reaction,
Although the hardware system of osmosis is unique, the
Sproducts
Sreactants, which is the ∆Ssystem. That is why ∆G has
process that occurs in it is merely a special case of volume
enormous power and application, from prediction of the di-
increase via mixing that has been discussed. From a molecu-
rection of chemical reaction, to prediction of the maximum
lar viewpoint, mixing a pure solvent with a solution results
useful work that can be obtained from it. The Planck func-
in denser microstates for the solvent molecules and thereby
tion, ∆G/T, is superior in characterizing the temperature
its energy dispersion is increased. Greater energy dispersal is
dependence of the spontaneity of chemical reactions (10, 11).
measured by an increase in entropy. If a semi-permeable mem-
These advantages are the result of the power of the general
brane with solvent on one side passes only solvent into a so-
concept of entropy itself and the relation of ∆G to it, not a
lution on its other side, that movement is spontaneous
result of ∆G being some novel variant of energy.
because it is entropically favored. The solvent will increase
in entropy if it flows to the solution side of the membrane. Why Reactions Do Not Go to Completion:
Why an Equilibrium State Has Increased Entropy
More-Complex Entropy Change Compared to a Completed Reaction (11)
The following section discusses a general view of spon- A significant contribution to teaching is using entropy
taneous chemical reactions wherein energy changes occur in to explain quickly and simply why many chemical reactions
chemical bonds that disperse energy in the surroundings. that involve solutions or mixtures do not go to completion.
(“Completion” is here used in the sense that no reactants re-
The Gibbs Function, an All-Entropy Equation of State main after the reaction; products are formed in 100% yield.)
Undoubtedly, the first-year chemistry texts that directly Thus, the final destination of those many reactions is an equi-
state the Gibbs equation as ∆G = ∆H
T∆S, without its librium state containing both products and some unchanged
derivation involving the entropy of the universe, do so in or- reactants.
der to save valuable page space. However, such an omission Many texts say something like “systems can achieve the
seriously weakens students’ understanding that the “free en- lowest possible free energy by going to equilibrium, rather
ergy” of Gibbs is more closely related to entropy than it is to than proceeding to completion” and support the statement
energy (9). This quality of being a very different variety of well by quantitative illustrations of the free energies of for-
energy is seen most clearly if it is derived as the result of a ward and reverse reactions. Few texts present a qualitative
chemical reaction in a constant pressure, constant tempera- description of the entropy changes (which are essentially
ture system doing only PV work as is shown in some supe- ∆G/T changes) that immediately simplify the picture for stu-
rior texts, and developed below. dents.
If there are no other events in the universe at a particu- As mentioned repeatedly in this article, mixtures of many
lar moment that a spontaneous chemical reaction occurs in types have higher entropy than their pure components (not
a system, the changes in entropy are: ∆Suniverse = ∆Ssurroundings caused by any profound or novel “entropy of mixing”, but
+ ∆Ssystem. However, the internal energy evolved from changes simply due to increased density of microstates with increased
in bond energy, ∆H, in a spontaneous reaction in the sys- volume). Thus, students who have been shown examples of
tem passes to the surroundings. This ∆Hsystem, divided by T, this phenomenon can immediately understand why, in a re-
is ∆S surroundings. Inserting this result (of (∆H/T )system = action of A to make B, the entropy of a mixture of B with a
∆S surroundings) in the original equation gives ∆S universe = small residual quantity of A would be greater than that of
(∆H/T)system + ∆Ssystem. But, the only increase in entropy that pure B. Therefore, the products in many such reactions would
occurred in the universe initially was the dispersal of differ- more probably be such a mixture because this would result
ences in bond energies as a result of a spontaneous chemical in a greater entropy increase in the reaction than formation
reaction in the system. To that dispersed, evolved bond en- of only pure B. The qualitative conclusion that reactions that
ergy (that therefore has a negative sign), we can arbitrarily are moderately exothermic go to an equilibrium of B plus
assign any symbol we wish, say ∆G in honor of Gibbs, which, some A rather than to completion readily becomes apparent
divided by T becomes (∆G/T )system. Inserted in the original on this basis of maximal entropy change, determined by
equation as a replacement for ∆Suniverse (because it represents R ln K, (∆G°/T ).3
the total change in entropy in the universe at that instant):
(∆G/T )system = (∆H/T )system + ∆Ssystem. Finally, multiplying Summary
the whole by T, we obtain the familiar Gibbs equation, ∆G
= ∆H
T∆S, all terms referring to what happened or could Energy associated with macro objects or with molecules
happen in the system. disperses, spreads out, dissipates from being localized if the
Strong and Halliwell rightly maintained that ∆G, the dispersal process is not hindered, for example by physical ob-
“free energy”, is not a true energy because it is not conserved stacles or by chemical activation energies or other barriers.
(9). Explicitly ascribed in the derivation of the preceding para- In objects with kinetic or potential energy, that dispersion
graph (or implicitly in similar derivations), ∆G is plainly the occurs via changes that ultimately warm the surroundings.
quantity of energy that can be dispersed to the universe, the Most frequently energy in molecules is dispersed by the en-
kind of entity always associated with entropy increase, and ergy becoming spread among a larger number of microstates
not simply energy in one of its many forms. Therefore, it is than was the case in the original system.
not difficult to see that ∆G is indeed not a true energy. In- This dispersal of energy gives direction to physical and
stead, as dispersible energy, when divided by T, ∆G/T is an chemical events and is the driving force for them. Energy’s

1244 Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 79 No. 10 October 2002 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu

 In the Classroom

dispersing is probabilistic rather than deterministic. As a con- “a measure of the capacity energy may have to flow from one place
sequence, there may be small sections of a larger system in of the universe to another” (15). Far more recently, Lowe (16), Craig
which energy is temporarily concentrated. (Chemical sub- (7b), Atkins (17, 18) and Bindel (19) range from an occasional men-
stances having greater free energies than their possible prod- tion to frequent use of energy dispersal as the basis for understand-
ucts are examples. They continue to exist because of activation ing entropy change. Leff provides thorough theoretical support for
energies that act as barriers to instant chemical reaction and interpreting entropy increase as increased energy dispersal among
dispersion of their internal bond energies [12].) molecular microstates (3a, b).
Entropy change is the index of the dispersion of energy 2. “Energy” in this article will mainly refer to the potential
at a temperature T. Entropy is not disorder, not a measure of and kinetic energy in molecules and chemical systems in two prin-
disorder, not a driving force. The entropy of a substance, its cipal categories: (1) the bond energies within molecules (internal
entropy change from 0 K to any T, is a measure of the en- chemical energy), and (2) the energy associated with molecular
ergy that can be dispersed within the substance at T: integra- motions of all types (translational, rotational, vibrational). (Cat-
tion from 0 K to T of 兰Cp/T dT (+ q/T for any phase change). egory (2) has been called the “thermal energy” of molecules. How-
A molecular view of entropy is most helpful in under- ever, Craig points out that “thermal energy is an energy content”
standing entropy change. Microstates are quantum mechani- and “thermal energy” should not be used in describing an energy
cal descriptions of ways that molecules can differ in their transfer process (20). Therefore, in this article when energy associ-
energy distribution and probable location; an enormous num- ated with molecular motion is transferred, the single word “energy”
ber of microstates correspond to any macrostate above 0 K. is used in discussing the transfer.)
When a macrostate is warmed, a greater dispersal of energy Before focusing on chemical systems for a class of beginners,
can occur in a substance or a system because additional the instructor can profitably illustrate the spontaneous dispersal of
microstates become accessible. This increased spreading out energy as a common phenomenon in everyday happenings. This
of energy is reflected in the entropy increase per unit of tem- can be wide in scope, including a bouncing ball ceasing to bounce,
perature. Liquids have hugely greater numbers of microstates the results of a car crash (kinetic energy dispersed to twisted warm
than their solid phase at the same temperature because of the metal, etc.), highly charged clouds (yielding lightning bolts), at-
additional microstates made available in translational and tenuation effects with which students are familiar (loud musical
rotational and some vibrational modes. Further great increases sounds a room or dormitory away), or ripple heights (from an ob-
in accessible microstates become available in these modes in ject thrown in a swimming pool). All forms of energy associated
vapor phases. Greater dispersal of energy is indicated by an with common objects as well as with molecules become more dis-
increase in entropy of these phases from 0 K. sipated, spread out, dispersed if there are ways in which the energy
Gas expansion into a vacuum, mixing of ideal gases or can become less localized and the dispersal process is not hindered.
liquids, diffusion, colligative effects, and osmosis each fun- (In the case of molecules where energy must be considered quan-
damentally involves an increase in entropy due to increased tized these ways of becoming less localized are described as acces-
dispersion of energy (with no change in total energy in the sible microstates.)
case of ideal fluids) in more dense microstates. 3. A novel example of NO2 forming N2O4 gives details of the
At its heart, the Gibbs equation is an “all-entropy” equa- influence of entropy in yielding an equilibrium mixture rather than
tion of state. The Gibbs energy has been accurately criticized a pure N2O4 product (21).
as not “a true energy”. It is not conserved. The Gibbs energy,
∆G, can be correctly described as “dispersible energy” rather Literature Cited
than a variety of energy, because of its ultimate definition as
the energy portion of an entropy function, ∆G/T. Modestly 1. Lambert, F. L. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 187–192.
exothermic reactions go to equilibrium rather than to comple- 2. Brostow, W. Science 1972, 178, 121.
tion because a mixture of substances has a larger entropy than 3. (a) Leff, H. S. Am. J. Phys. 1996, 64, 1261–1271; (b) 1268–
a pure substance. Highly exothermic reactions proceed es- 1270; (c) Figure 8 (b), p 1268.
sentially to completion because the thermal transfer to the 4. Styer, D. F. Am. J. Phys. 2000, 68, 1090–1096.
surroundings constitutes an overwhelmingly greater entropy 5. Denbigh, K. The Principles of Chemical Equilibrium; Cam-
change than any minute counter from the mixing of prod- bridge University Press: London, 1961; Chapter 1.
ucts with reactants in the system.
6. Bent, H. A. The Second Law; Oxford University Press: New
York, 1965; Chapter 25.
Acknowledgments 7. (a) Craig, N. C. Entropy Analysis; Wiley: New York, 1992;
p 92; (b) p 2.
I thank Norman C. Craig for his invaluable detailed cri-
tiques of this article. Any remaining flaws in it are mine, of 8. Meyer, E. F. J. Chem. Educ. 1987, 64, 676.
course. Harvey S. Leff, Ralph Baierlein, and Walter T. Grandy 9. Strong, L. E.; Halliwell, H. F. J. Chem. Educ. 1970, 47,
Jr. answered many questions in its development. 347–352.
10. Rosenberg, R. M.; Klotz, I. M. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76,
1448–1451.
Notes
11. Nash, L. K. J. Chem. Educ. 1970, 47, 353–357.
1. Though constrained by the knowledge of their day, Kelvin 12. Lambert, F. L. J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 947–948.
(W. Thomson) still called the flow of energy from a hot to a cold 13. Thomson, W. Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh 1852, 3, 139–142;
body a “dissipation of energy” (13) while Clausius’ “change in 1875, 8, 325–334. Reprinted in Thomson, W. Mathematical
disgregation value” (14) led to entropy that Barón summarizes as and Physical Papers, Vol. I; Cambridge University Press:

JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 79 No. 10 October 2002 • Journal of Chemical Education 1245

In the Classroom

Cambridge, 1882; pp 511–514; Thomson, W. Mathematical 17. Atkins, P. The 2nd Law: Energy, Chaos, and Form; Scientific
and Physical Papers, Vol. V; Cambridge University Press, 1911; American Books: New York, 1994; pp 62–63.
pp 11–20. 18. Atkins, P. Physical Chemistry, 6th ed.; Freeman: New York,
14. Clausius, R. (Poggendorff ’s) Ann. der Phys. und Chem. 1865, 1998; Chapter 4.
125 (2), 353–399. 19. Bindel, T. H. J. Chem. Educ. 2000, 77, 1031–1034.
15. Barón, M. J. Chem. Educ. 1989, 66, 1001–1004. 20. Craig, N. C. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 193–200.
16. Lowe, J. P. J. Chem. Educ. 1988, 65, 403–406. 21. Shultz, M. J. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 1391–1393.

1246 Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 79 No. 10 October 2002 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu