The Most Misunderstood Concept in Physics

One of the most important, yet least understood, concepts in all of physics. Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial, and the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription. In 2025, we launched the Elements of Truth game on Kickstarter and were thrilled by the response. We’re now in the final stages of production, with Kickstarter rewards shipping soon. If you missed the campaign, you can now pre-order the retail edition through our new website here - https://ve42.co/EntropyDes If you're looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms - a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically: https://snatoms.com We have a tabletop game launching! Pledge your support now - https://ve42.co/KickStarterD ▀▀▀ A huge thank you to those who helped us understand different aspects of this complicated topic - Dr. Ashmeet Singh, Supriya Krishnamurthy, Dr. Jos Thijssen, Dr. Bijoy Bera, Dr. Timon Idema, Álvaro Bermejillo Seco and Dr. Misha Titov. ▀▀▀ References: Carnot, S. (1824). Reflections on the motive power of heat: and on machines fitted to develop that power. - https://ve42.co/Carnot1890 Harnessing The True Power Of Atoms | Order And Disorder Documentaries, Spark via YouTube - https://ve42.co/OrderDisorder A better description of entropy, Steve Mould via YouTube - https://ve42.co/Mould2016 Dugdale, J. S. (1996). Entropy and its physical meaning. CRC Press. - https://ve42.co/Dugdale1996 Schroeder, D. V. (1999). An introduction to thermal physics. - https://ve42.co/Schroeder2021 Fowler, M. Heat Engines: the Carnot Cycle, University of Virginia. - https://ve42.co/Fowler2023 Chandler, D.L. (2010). Explained: The Carnot Limit, MIT News - https://ve42.co/Chandler2010 Entropy, Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/EntropyWiki Clausius, R. (1867). The mechanical theory of heat. Van Voorst. - https://ve42.co/Clausius1867 What is entropy? TED-Ed via YouTube - https://ve42.co/Phillips2017 Thijssen, J. (2018) Lecture Notes Statistical Physics, TU Delft. Schneider, E. D., & Kay, J. J. (1994). Life as a manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics. Mathematical and computer modelling, 19(6-8), 25-48. - https://ve42.co/Schneider1994 Lineweaver, C. H., & Egan, C. A. (2008). Life, gravity and the second law of thermodynamics. Physics of Life Reviews, 5(4), 225-242. - https://ve42.co/Lineweaver2008 Michaelian, K. (2012). HESS Opinions" Biological catalysis of the hydrological cycle: life's thermodynamic function". Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 16(8), 2629-2645. - https://ve42.co/Michaelian2012 England, J. L. (2013). Statistical physics of self-replication. The Journal of chemical physics, 139(12), 09B623_1. - https://ve42.co/England2013 England, J. L. (2015). Dissipative adaptation in driven self-assembly. Nature nanotechnology, 10(11), 919-923. - https://ve42.co/England2015 Wolchover, N. (2014). A New Physics Theory of Life, Quantamagazine - https://ve42.co/Wolchover2014 Additional References: https://ve42.co/EntropyRefs ▀▀▀ Special thanks to our Patreon supporters: Emil Abu Milad, Tj Steyn, meg noah, Bernard McGee, KeyWestr, Amadeo Bee, TTST, Balkrishna Heroor, John H. Austin, Jr., john kiehl, Anton Ragin, Diffbot, Gnare, Dave Kircher, Burt Humburg, Blake Byers, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Bill Linder, Paul Peijzel, Josh Hibschman, Mac Malkawi, Juan Benet, Ubiquity Ventures, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Stephen Wilcox, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Michael Krugman, Sam Lutfi. ▀▀▀ Written by Casper Mebius, Derek Muller & Petr Lebedev Edited by Trenton Oliver & Jamie MacLeod Animated by Mike Radjabov, Ivy Tello, Fabio Albertelli and Jakub Misiek Filmed by Derek Muller, Albert Leung & Raquel Nuno Molecular collisions video by CSIRO's Data61 via YouTube: Simulation of air Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Pond5 and by courtesy of NASA, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Goddard Flight Lab/ CI Lab, NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, HMI, and WMAP science teams. As well as the Advanced Visualization Laboratory at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, B. Robertson, L. Hernquist Music from Epidemic Sound & Jonny Hyman Produced by Derek Muller, Petr Lebedev, Emily Zhang, & Casper Mebius