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Insight into Entropy

A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Multidisciplinary Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 1311

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
Interests: quantum gravity; superfluids; Bose–Einstein condensates; hybrid-symbolic numerics; computational physics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Entropy is a paramount concept. It can be a measure of width of a distribution, and it is often related to the level of chaos or randomness in a system. It is one of the most important concepts in physics and in information theory. The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy always increases (never decreases) in any process. It is transcendental in that it is a key component of entropic or emergent gravity but anthropomorphic in that it requires human notions of measure, disorder and cost.  Thus, it is not surprising that we have different mathematical assessments of entropy from different disciplines, including theoretical Physics, Biology, Cosmology and Economics:

  • Von Neumann entropy;
  • Everett–Hirschman entropy also called “entropic uncertainty”;
  • Information or Shannon entropy or differential entropy;
  • Algorithmic entropy (Kolmogorov complexity);
  • Rényi entropy (min-entropy);
  • Tsallis entropy, etc.

This Special Issue welcomes efforts in integrating these various definitions of entropy and/or finding out more about them so as to increase our insight into the very concept of entropy. There is likely no unique definition of entropy, but insight can be derived from connections and comparisons between these definitions and/or increased understanding from the individual concepts. Special attention will be focused on applications in quantum theory.

Prof. Dr. Philip Broadbridge
Dr. Tony C. Scott
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Everett–Hirschman entropy
  • Von Neumann entropy
  • Shannon entropy
  • Rényi entropy
  • Tsallis entropy
  • quantum theory
  • nonlinear optics
  • logarithmic Schrödinger equation
  • superfluids
  • superconductors
  • emergent gravity

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1997 KiB  
Article
Shannon Entropy Analysis of a Nuclear Fuel Pin Under Deep Burnup
by Wojciech R. Kubiński, Jan K. Ostrowski and Krzysztof W. Fornalski
Entropy 2024, 26(12), 1124; https://doi.org/10.3390/e26121124 - 22 Dec 2024
Viewed by 860
Abstract
This paper analyzes the behavior of the entropy of a nuclear fuel rod under deep burnup conditions, beyond standard operational ranges, reaching up to 60 years. The evolution of the neutron source distribution in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel pin was analyzed [...] Read more.
This paper analyzes the behavior of the entropy of a nuclear fuel rod under deep burnup conditions, beyond standard operational ranges, reaching up to 60 years. The evolution of the neutron source distribution in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel pin was analyzed using the Monte Carlo method and Shannon information entropy. To maintain proper statistics, a novel scaling method was developed, adjusting the neutron population based on the fission rate. By integrating reactor physics with information theory, this work aimed at the deeper understanding of nuclear fuel behavior under extreme burnup conditions. The results show a “U-shaped” entropy evolution: an initial decrease due to self-organization, followed by stabilization and eventual increase due to degradation. A minimum entropy state is reached after approximately 45 years of pin operation, showing a steady-state condition with no entropy change. This point may indicate a physical limit for fuel utilization. Beyond this point, entropy rises, reflecting system degradation and lower energy efficiency. The results show that entropy analysis can provide valuable insights into fuel behavior and operational limits. The proposed scaling method may also serve to control a Monte Carlo simulation, especially for the analysis of long-life reactors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Insight into Entropy)
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