[Physics] Second law of thermodynamics and a bunch of magnets

electromagnetismentropythermodynamics

Say I put a bunch of powerful square magnets on a nearly frictionless table in a disordered fashion. The second law of thermodynamics states that the system shall spontaneously get more disordered, yet the magnets will attract each other and form a chain (typically), thereby increasing the order of the system-and, seemingly, decreasing its entropy.

It would seem to me that the system is closed and the lattice is indeed the equilibrium state. Therefore, I suspect that by attracting each other, the magnets increase their own entropy by a larger amount than the decrease in entropy caused by the lattice formation. Is it true? If yes, what are the thermodynamics of magnets responsible for this? Is there a microscopic explanation?

Thanks!

Best Answer

It's actually a nice example of why the 2nd law is useful: if you go around trying to account in microscopic detail the balance of things like energy and entropy, then you can easily go wrong. I used to have a student who would do this all the time; I don't know if he ever learnt the lesson...

In this specific case, you neglected damping --- without it, you would never come to an equilibrium and the 2nd law does not apply. With damping, you necessarily dissipate heat, and that loss will more than make up for the macroscopic ordering. This dissipation can be either mechanical friction, or (as an example of why you would be wrong about this situation being "closed") electro-magnetic --- oscillating dipoles emit radiation!

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