Entropy's Hourglass

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As one goes "forward" in time, the second law of thermodynamics says, the entropy of an isolated system can increase, but not decrease. Hence, from one perspective, entropy measurement is a way of distinguishing the past from the future. the second law of thermodynamics says that entropy always increases with time. As time increases, so does entropy, the two in concert entwined.

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Sand falls silently and relentlessly in a steady steam from the top bulb to bottom bulb through hourglass neck. Sand grains tick the seconds away as they flow, forming an inverted cone-shaped pile. Excess tumbling down the sides of the sand hill below. A gaggle of grains disordered in time pause waiting for flip-overs to flow in reverse back to whence they came. An endless cycle of flip flops marking the passage of time when time began with the big bang explosion when order in the singularity was maximal. Extreme order shattered in a surge towards more disorder, with time, the marker of endless fate to increase entropy.

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