Is the second law of thermodynamics routinely violated?

[Max_S]

@Mijin

It’s not about *assuming *randomness or chaotic behaviour, it’s that models that include these features make good predictions. e.g. we can predict very precisely the frequency with which electrons will tunnel through a barrier.

(OK, I know with “randomness” there’s a degree of interpretation involved and it’s possible there could be non-local hidden variables. Half Man Half Wit will know better than me.
But I’m not aware of any effort to interpret away chaotic behaviour. Or anyone that claims it breaks physical laws.)

But the models of statistical mechanics assume stochastic or chaotic behavior, thus the laws of statistical mechanics are actually heuristics, not laws. The second law of thermodynamics, as formulated using the statistical definition of entropy, has been violated by Half Man Half Wit’s own citation. This is not to detract from the utility of statistical mechanics, which is much easier to calculate.

There are three (or four) forms of the second law of thermodynamics which are not heuristic, and these are the ones I was taught in school and cited in the first post. So in order to disprove those laws, you would need to show a contradiction. That’s what this thread is about.

~Max