Connecting Energy Dispersal and the Classical Definition of Entropy

Abstract

It is natural to interpret entropy as a measure of energy dispersion. However, the classical, phenomenological introduction to the topic, which relies on detailed analysis of Carnot engines, obscures this interpretation. Here, we propose a modification of the classical approach, which allows the basic properties of entropy to be proven without concrete analysis of Carnot engines, and allows entropy to be motivated by the search for a state function which quantifies energy dispersion.