In article <DFHJDD.Ap@sgi.sgi.com>, David Van Wie <dvw@hamachi.epr.com> writes:
David Van Wie wrote:
The entropy E is defined by the sum across n states of -P_i log_2(P_i),
Timothy C. May wrote:
Hah! Another physicist converted to the information-theoretic view of entropy!
Indeed. I was able to track down the literature, and it is most interesting. I am still a little bit skeptical of the "superset including thermodynamic entropy" school of thought, but I haven't finished reading all of the materials yet! Clearly, the IT "version" of entropy is a well defined and useful thing....
We used this formulation of entropy in Statistical Mechanics. It's especially useful in Quantum Thermo where you can actually enumerate all of the states instead of relying on probabilistic arguments. -- Sure we spend a lot of money, but that doesn't mean | Tom Weinstein we *do* anything. -- Washington DC motto | tomw@engr.sgi.com