sethoflagos

In what way is the 2nd Law 'statistical'? Many notable researchers have used a statistical approach to probe the complexities of thermodynamic systems, but isn't that only because of the computational complexity? Are you claiming that the systems themselves are stochastic in a real sense? If so, then where does the random element creep in?

This has been a common trope running round most of the pop-science channels on Youtube over the last year or so. I won't name names but I guess some of you know some of the channels in question. It starts with a box with N particles randomly dotted around inside it. The presenter then changes the cartoon to one where all the dots are shown on the left hand side of the box and states 'Statistical Mechanics says that all random configurations of particles are possible, therefore sometime eventually this low entropy configuration will occur, therefore the 2nd Law only applies sometimes'. Leaving aside the macroscopic shift in centre of mass that shows dereliction of the 1st Law (an easy fix if they cared about it), they present this extraordinary claim without stating what quantities are preserved in the analysis, what if anything has happened to the momentum distribution in the half box scenario, or whether 'statistical mechanics says' the system will ever find its way back to its original thermal equilibrium. Have I missed something somewhere, or is it all just clickbait BS?