The critical bit for me: > This is only possible if the number of high energy states is limited. For a system of ordinary (quantum or classical) particles such

The critical bit for me: > This is only possible if the number of high energy states is limited. For a system of ordinary (quantum or classical) particles such as atoms or dust, the number of high energy states is unlimited (particle momenta can in principle be increased indefinitely). Some systems, however [...], have a maximum amount of energy that they can hold, and as they approach that maximum energy their entropy actually begins to decrease. In my (limited) understanding, it's somewhat like the phenomenon that a communication channel bit error rate over 0.5 actually results in less information loss (imagine a BER of 1: that's just a NOT gate). If your energy states are limited, adding energy actual brings you closer to an ordered state (that of everything being in the highest state). But, this is not a situation you get by simply heating something up with a blowtorch, no matter how hot it is.