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A higher entropy state has a longer description length.

For example, let's say I have a magic electron microscope that can scan and record the exact position and velocity of each particle in some 1-cubic-micron volume, to within Heisenberg uncertainty limits and some finite digitization precision.

If my sample is a 1-cubic-micron volume of flawless monocrystalline silicon at 0 Kelvin, I can 'zip' my recording and transmit that description in a much shorter sentence (in fact, I just sent it to you!) than if my sample is a cubic micron of room-temperature saltwater (whose macrostate I just described, but whose microstate I did not).



Your example of monocrystalline silicon at (almost) 0 Kelvin has actually higher entropy than your example of saltwater.


Can you elaborate? And what if I used as comparison something like room-temperature doped polysilicon?




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