Understanding von Neumann's entropy

TL;DR

This paper reviews the foundations of von Neumann's entropy in quantum mechanics, explaining its relation to Shannon's entropy and providing an intuitive game to clarify its physical interpretation.

Contribution

It offers a clear review of the postulates needed for von Neumann's entropy and introduces an accessible game to aid understanding of its physical meaning.

Findings

Von Neumann's entropy generalizes Shannon's entropy.

A simple game helps illustrate the physical meaning of von Neumann's entropy.

Clarifies the foundational postulates related to quantum entropy.

Abstract

We review the postulates of quantum mechanics that are needed to discuss the von Neumann's entropy. We introduce it as a generalization of Shannon's entropy and propose a simple game that makes easier understanding its physical meaning.