The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics – How does it relate to Fire Safety?

Posted 5 years ago

I love fire, don’t you? It is like a living act of entropy. The ultimate weapon of destruction. Reminding us that in the end everything eventually returns to the ash it came from.

Steve Trevor, from the film Wonder Woman

Thermodynamics deals with heat and temperature, and their relationship with other things.

There are 4 ‘laws’ of thermodynamics in physics, with the second law being of interest to us today.

This law is about entropy…

Entropy means things in the universe are more likely to be random than ordered. It also means that over time, differences in things like temperature and pressure in the universe
even out.

In the following metaphor, the bricks are the contents of the universe:

You have a truck full of neatly stacked bricks. You dump the bricks out onto the floor. They are more likely to be disordered than ordered. There may, however, be some order. If you leave them and come back in a thousand years, they’ll be even less ordered.

In summary, over time, order decays and things become more random as they even out.

Over time, order breaks down. This is a great reason to make sure staff are given regular awareness and training, with Fire Awareness being a relevant course to every organisation. This complies with the legal requirement for organisations to provide Fire Awareness Training to all staff.

Interested in being happy, healthy and driven in a slowly decaying universe? Try our Stress Awareness and Mental Health Awareness Training programmes for free today.