Graininess and Entropy

A simplified model of grain is presented. Using a black and white checkerboard pattern of varying macroscopic transmission, the entropy, as defined in information theory, is computed and plotted as a function of transmission and density. The similarity between the entropy versus density curve and empirically determined graininess versus density curves suggest the possibility that the subjective term “graininess” represents the observer’s description of the disorder of the granular sample.