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Long term effects of entropy in complex systems

 
 
Reply Fri 21 Feb, 2020 07:11 am
In the Wiki article, Timeline of the far future, the following statement is made about the role of entropy:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future
Quote:
All projections of the future of Earth, the Solar System, and the universe must account for the second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy, or a loss of the energy available to do work, must rise over time.[2] Stars will eventually exhaust their supply of hydrogen fuel and burn out. Close encounters between astronomical objects gravitationally fling planets from their star systems, and star systems from galaxies.[3]

Entropy, however, is not a one-way street, so to speak. There are processes in nature that reverse the direction of entropy in a system due to interaction with some other system(s).

Biological life on Earth, for example, uses energy to reproduce, which effectively overcomes the processes of entropy that eventually lead to the death of organisms. Through reproduction, what is essentially the same organism can live continuously by propagating itself into future generations. In this way, entropy is managed and/or reversed.

Are there other examples where entropy is managed/reversed; or examples where entropy is absolutely irreversible?

Is the universe as a whole an irreversible entropic process, or could it be in dynamic equilibrium due to interacting processes of entropy and anti-entropy taking place throughout in various ways?
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