Since it began 13.8 billion years ago, the universe has become increasingly disordered. This movement from order to disorder is called entropy.

This raises the question: If the universe is becoming increasingly disordered, how do we explain planets, cities, buildings, and bricks?

It comes down to balance. On one side of the scale is a unimaginably large universe that has a lot of disorder and not a lot of energy.

On the other, local areas that have intense energy. As energy goes up in a local area of the universe, disorder goes down.

An exploding star creates an energy-intense cloud of dust and gas that accretes into a planet.

A kiln burns at 1,830 degrees Fahrenheit and turns clay into bricks.

These things are examples of negative entropy – temporary, localized increases in order, structure, or complexity within a larger, high-entropy system.