Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Reflections on the motive power of fire ..." -- The laws of thermodynamics -- Entropy and free energy -- Entropy and probability -- Statistics and mechanics -- Open systems -- Information -- Entropy, information, life.

"This treasure of popular science by the Russian biophysicist Mikhail V. Volkenstein is at last, more than twenty years after its appearance in Russian, available in English translation. As its title Entropy and Information suggests, the book deals with the thermodynamical concept of entropy and its interpretation in terms of information theory. The author shows how entropy is not to be considered a mere shadow of the central physical concept of energy, but more appropriately as a leading player in all of the major natural processes: physical, chemical, biological, evolutionary, and even cultural. The theory of entropy is thoroughly developed from its beginnings in the foundational work of Sadi Carnot and Clausius in the context of heat engines, including expositions of much of the necessary physics and mathematics, and illustrations from everyday life of the importance of entropy."--Back cover.