[b]IMPORTANT:[/b] There is no TL;DR. Read the entire thing. I can tell whether or not you have. I know you haven't because you ask stupid questions that I answered in the post.
[b]ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE:[/b] The entire point of this post is to explain [b][i][u]WHY THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS CANNOT BE USED AGAINST EVOLUTION IN FAVOUR OF CREATIONISM. [/u][/i][/b]
So. The second law of Thermodynamics is one that is thrown out a lot by creationists, who say that this law disproves or contradicts evolution. I will go over the laws in simple terms before continuing.
Also, they are commonly numbered 0-3, not 1-4. And Entropy means a gradual decline into disorder. Anyway, lets begin.
Zeroth law: When a hotter object and a colder object are placed in contact with one another, heat will flow from the hotter object to the colder object until they are in thermal equilibrium. This is very basic stuff that you will learn in secondary school.
First law: The First Law tells us that the internal energy of an object/being increases if heat is added to the object/being or if work is done on the object/being and decreases if the object/being gives off heat or does work.
[b]Second law[/b]: For this we will be relating to entropy. Simply put, as time goes on in a closed space, entropy must increase.
Third law: It is impossible to cool a substance to absolute zero, the lowest temperature that is theoretically possible.
This all seems like really basic stuff, huh?
Onto how it can be used against evolution. The second law is that in a closed space, more and more chaos must occur. Everything slowly falls into disorder and entropy.
Evolution works perfectly fine after billions of years. The whole world supports itself. But how? After billions of years, it would be chaos, wouldn't it? No.
[b][u]Planet Earth is not a closed space. [/u][/b]That is the problem with this logic. The planet constantly receives energy from the Sun.
Plants photosynthesise, taking the energy from the Sun, herbivores/omnivores eat the plants, taking the energy from the plant, carnivores/omnivores eat the herbivores/omnivores/carnivores, taking the energy from the herbivore/omnivore/carnivore.
People never listen, and I keep hearing this argument.
Edit 1:
[b][u]Star formation. [/u][/b]
Some pointed out to me that the universe is always expanding, and I have already found people disagreeing under the grounds that the universe is a closed space. I never said the universe was not a closed space. I said,
[quote][b][u]Planet Earth is not a closed space. [/u][/b][/quote]
While the universe may be a closed space, that will most likely one day decline into entropy, the Sun will continue to support earth for the next 7 billion years. A lengthy time. But not a lot compared to how new stars form.
Stars are formed from nebulas, clusters of gas in space. They remain in this stage for around 50 million years, before maturing. A mature star the size of our Sun lasts about 10 billion years. Dwarf stars last the longest, spanning tens of billions of years, however do not emit much energy, about 0.01% of our Sun's.
Hypergiants last not as long, but emit so much energy, hundreds of thousands times more than our sun, and they are also 100 times bigger, however only last a few million years.
So while the universe may one day reach entropy, for the next billion trillion, or longer, years, we'll be fine.
And for the next 7 billion years, [b]Planet earth[/b] is not a closed space.
Edit 2:
[b][u]Video[/u][/b]
Face McShooty posted this in the comments, asking me to post it at the top. The link [url=http://youtu.be/OBITz7WE6WE]is this clickable thing right here[/url], in sources, and in the media bar unless another piece of evidence comes along that assists more than this one will.
Edit 3: Slight changes to text. Facts updated and spelling errors corrected.
Sources used:
[u]Original post:[/u]
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/physics/chapter12section3.rhtml
https://www.boundless.com/chemistry/textbooks/boundless-chemistry-textbook/thermodynamics-17/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-123/the-three-laws-of-thermodynamics-496-3601/
[u]Edit 1:[/u]
http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve/
[u]Edit 2:[/u]
http://youtu.be/OBITz7WE6WE
-
More or less unrelated. While we're on the subject of entropy, I thought I'd share a great short story: The Last Question, by Isaac Asimov.