State the second law of thermodynamics.

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1. The second law of thermodynamics is a fundamental principle that describes the direction of thermodynamic processes and the concept of entropy.
2. Entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness in a system, and the second law states that the total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time.
3. In practical terms, this means that natural processes tend to move towards a state of maximum entropy or disorder.
4. The second law also implies that energy transformations are not 100% efficient, as some energy is always lost as heat, increasing the entropy of the surroundings.
5. A common way to express the second law is: 'The entropy of the universe tends to increase in spontaneous processes.'