Entropy, a measure of disorder in a system, typically increases according to the second law of thermodynamics. However, entropy can decrease in a localized system when energy is added or work is done on the system, as described by the equation ΔS = Q/T, where ΔS is the change in entropy, Q is the heat added, and T is the temperature. For example, in refrigeration cycles, work is done to remove heat from a cold reservoir, decreasing its entropy at the expense of increasing the entropy of the surroundings. Thus, while entropy can decrease locally, the overall entropy of the universe still increases.
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