> Isn't "minimizing energy" a definition for entropy? No. If you have a system with a well-defined energy/entropy exchange rate (temperature) you can use it to

> Isn't "minimizing energy" a definition for entropy? No. If you have a system with a well-defined energy/entropy exchange rate (temperature) you can use it to put entropy in units of energy, add it to your energy term, and model the combined system behavior on the basis of this "free energy." The free energy is not a fundamental quantity, though, and it doesn't define entropy. That's why the first two laws of thermodynamics are "Energy is Conserved" and "Entropy Increases," not "Free Energy decreases."