spontaneous processes

Spontaneous processes are natural changes that happen on their own without needing extra energy input. For example, heat naturally flows from a hot object to a cold one, and a sugar cube dissolves in water without stirring. These processes tend to increase the overall disorder or entropy of a system and move toward a more stable state. While they occur naturally, they can still take varying amounts of time; some are quick, like melting ice, and others are slow, like the formation of mountain ranges. Ultimately, spontaneous processes make the system more balanced or dispersed over time.