First off, many creationists[1] and intelligent design proponents[2] claim that evolution is in contradiction of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. For the most part, any discrepancy seen by and ID proponent or creationist can be contributed to their lack of understanding of thermodynamics in general, and both evolution and the Second Law of Thermodynamics in particular.
I happened to find a paper by Emory F. Bunn titled "Evolution and the Second Law of Thermodynamics"[3] which was published in the American Journal of Physics and elaborates on points made by Styer in the paper "Entropy and Evolution"[4] which was also published in the American Journal of Physics, but at an earlier date.
What is so frequently misunderstood by creationists who argue that the Second Law of Thermodynamics cannot coexist with the Theory of Evolution is entropy cannot decrease in a closed system. They would be right to say, assuming its true, evolution decreases entropy here on Earth. However, Earth is not a closed system. The only closed system is the Universe, where entropy never decreases.
He correctly explained that this claim rests on misunderstandings about the nature of entropy and the second law. The second law states that the total entropy of a closed system must never decrease. However, the Earth is not a closed system and is constantly absorbing sunlight, resulting in an enormous increase in entropy, which can counteract the decrease presumed to be required for evolution. [3]
Styer lays out a very simple argument in his paper with a level of math and physics not usually seen in a professional physics journal: that of high school. The paper should be read by anyone who does not fully understand why the Second Law of Thermodynamics is not broken by Evolution. However, there is a faulty assumption made by Styer and pointed out by Bunn, namely Equation 2 in Styer's paper. Bunn corrects it in his paper based on a number of better assumptions, however the result is still the same. Evolution is still safe and creationists have failed.
Other common misconceptions of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, debunked by Styer:
Disorder is a metaphor for entropy, not a definition for entropy. Metaphors are valuable only when they are not identical in all respects to their targets. For example, a map of Caracas is a metaphor for the surface of the Earth at Caracas, in that the map has a similar arrangement but a dissimilar scale. If the map had the same arrangement and scale as Caracas, it would be no easier to navigate using the map than it would be to navigate by going directly to Caracas and wandering the streets. The metaphor of disorder for entropy is valuable and thus imperfect. For example, take some ice cubes out of your freezer, smash them, toss the shards into a bowl, and then allow the ice to melt. The jumble of ice shards certainly seems more disorderly
than the bowl of smooth liquid water, yet the liquid water has the greater entropy.
Although the entropy of the universe increases with time, the entropy of any part of the universe can decrease with time, so long as that decrease is compensated by an even larger increase in some other part of the universe. For example, any hot cup of coffee left to its own devices on a
tabletop decreases in entropy. [4]
Most of the propaganda and name-calling seems to be on the side of the creation/ID people this time. They have no facts and are not backed up by science. The only reason they seem to cling to this debunked idea is faith. Using faith in the matters of science is quite detestable and will only further the USA's slide down the worldwide academic ladder.
References
[1] Christian Answers Network. "Second Law of Thermodynamics: Does This Basic Law of Nature Prevent Evolution?" http://bit.ly/2kCsy Accessed 21 September 2010
[2] Sewel, Granville. "Evolution's Thermodynamic Failure." The American Spectator. Online. http://bit.ly/bovgrb Accessed 21 September 2010
[3] Bunn, Emory F. "Evolution and the Second Law of Thermodynamics." Accepted for publication in the American Journal of Physics. E-print version - http://bit.ly/d7UWHu
[4] Styer, Daniel F. "Entropy and Evolution." American Journal of Physics, Volume 76, Issue 11. Pages 1031-3. E-print - http://bit.ly/cI10cU
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