I'm new here, so apologies if the question doesn't sound meaningful considering what physics is supposed to answer. I don't have a physics or mathematics background, but I did learn a few things about entropy and the different possible fates of an expanding universe from other forums.
Now, assuming the heat death "fate" is where the universe is heading towards, asymptotically reaching towards a thermal equilibrium, will it stay in a state of equilibrium forever? or the will the "arrow of time" cease pointing sharply towards the future since decrease in entropy becomes likelier when a state of near maximal entropy is achieved (I'm guessing here) ?
The wiki article on this states the number of years that would take for a random quantum fluctuation to perhaps recreate another "big bang" and restart the universe as $10^{10^{10^{56 }}}$ . I realise that's a RIDICULOUS amount of time to even comprehend, nevertheless it is still a physical possibility and $10^{10^{10^{56}} }$ years are only a tiny fraction of time when compared to an infinite amount of time.
Finally what I want to ask: Is reality a one time phase transition from a vague potential with maximal degrees of freedom (big bang) to a crisp actuality with maximal constraint (heat death) with asymmetric, unidirectional time or is it infinite cyclic with symmetric time that reverses itself (by means of highly improbable, but physically not impossible mechanisms) after a finite period of time?
I suspect this may be a borderline philosophy question, but figured might as well give it a try here before posting in more relevant forums. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment