The entropy of the universe always increases.
But what is this entropy we are talking about? Entropy can be thought of as a
measure of disorder in a system. It is related to time in as long as a system
experiences time, it will become more disordered with time. Just how can we
measure disorder?
Here is an example. Let’s say we have a fictitious couple we will call Jane and Joe.
Jane likes her closet neat and organized. All of the blouses, pants and skirts are
sorted according to color and style. Jane likes to be able to open her closet and
select an outfit without any mixing or matching or expending energy. Joe, on the
other hand, does not organize his closet. When the laundry is done, he just hangs
things up in the order he grabs them from the laundry basket. His closet is all mixed
up and as a result, he has to expend some energy to pick out an outfit that matches.
We could say that Jane’s closet exhibits less entropy than Joe’s. Jane’s clothes
exhibit a greater organization than Joe’s. If one were to enter a dark room and open
Jane’s closet, there would be a greater likelihood of picking a matching outfit in the
dark than when reaching into Joe’s closet. Joe’s closet exhibits a higher amount of
disorganization or entropy.
The same sort of phenomenon happens in the house. Over time the house
becomes increasingly more disordered or disorganized and requires energy to
restore order. Note the link between energy and entropy. In other words, it takes
energy to create order from disorder, or organization from disorganization. This is
what living systems do.
At the time of the Big Bang, the universe was in a highly ordered state, a singularity
with a near infinite density. In the earliest time that we can study, there was a mix of
matter and energy with matter produced by energy. The amount of energy density
determined the state of matter. The earliest forms of matter were the elementary
particles such as quarks, photons, electrons, positrons and neutrinos. These early
forms of matter came into existence at very high densities. The elementary particles
combine to form protons and neutrons as the universe cooled and the energy
density decreased.
Forces too came into existence. There are 4 fundamental forces. Gravity is thought
to be the first to emerge and is the weakest. Gravity works on all matter. It attracts all
matter through the exchange of a particle called a graviton. Other forces are the
weak and strong nuclear forces whose effects are confined to the atomic nucleus.
The electromagnetic force acts on charged particles and is the prevalent force
pertaining to biochemical reactions. Chemical bonds occur by virtue of interactions
between molecules. These interactions are produced by the electromagnetic force.
Actually, what you feel when you touch any physical object is actually the
electromagnetic force. For example, if you touch a block of wood the hardness of the
wood is produced by interactions of the electromagnetic force between your atoms
and those of the wood.
Gravity has yet to be combined with the other three forces in a unified theory, except
for the eleven dimensional string theory. Gravity is the most familiar force to us as
we experience its effects every day. It is the force that holds our solar system
together. The planets orbiting the Sun and the Milky Way galaxy in which we live are
all held together by gravity. Our Sun produces light and heat energy because gravity
has caused it to contract to such density that elements are fused together. All matter
exhibits a gravitational field and this field interacts with other matter over long
distances.
The weak nuclear force unlike gravity has a very short range. It functions in
radioactive decay of atoms. Like gravity, the weak nuclear force does not exhibit
much strength. The strong nuclear force is the force that holds quarks together to
produce atomic nuclei. It also has a short range but is very powerful and is carried
by a particle called a gluon.
The electromagnetic force, after gravity, is probably the second most familiar force in
our lives. The electromagnetic force is carried by the photon. It is responsible for a
myriad of interactions between atoms such as chemical bonds as well as the
everyday effects of electricity we experience.
As the energy density in the early universe continued to decrease the strong nuclear
force began to exhibit an effect causing the formation of atomic nuclei. Later the
electromagnetic force fostered the production of atoms with their associated
electrons. As the universe expanded regions of non-uniform density of matter
coalesced. These were the beginnings of galaxies. Gravity exhibited its stronghold
on matter in these regions and the formation of stars began. Gravity being the force
drives the great fusion reactors in the stars fueled by hydrogen and forming the
heavier elements. When stars of certain masses exhaust their fuel they end their
lives in a dramatic explosion known as a supernova. The energy from these
explosions produces even heavier elements.
But what does this have to do with entropy or the measure of disorder? We can say
that the universe evolved from a highly ordered state of a singularity with low entropy
to its present state of much higher entropy.
We can also say that if entropy is expressed as a measure of disorder, and disorder
is a representation of the number of ways something can vary, then we can surmise
that if something varies randomly it is much more difficult to explain the relationship
between the objects.
The description of the relationship between objects in a system can be thought of as
the information in the system. In other words, an organized system contains a
different amount of information than a disorganized system. More complex systems
contain greater amounts of information than simple systems. At the time of the Big
Bang, the universe was in its most highly ordered state. As the universe evolves to a
more disordered state it's entropy increases. Entropy and information then can be
considered as part of the same underlying concept.
But what is this entropy we are talking about? Entropy can be thought of as a
measure of disorder in a system. It is related to time in as long as a system
experiences time, it will become more disordered with time. Just how can we
measure disorder?
Here is an example. Let’s say we have a fictitious couple we will call Jane and Joe.
Jane likes her closet neat and organized. All of the blouses, pants and skirts are
sorted according to color and style. Jane likes to be able to open her closet and
select an outfit without any mixing or matching or expending energy. Joe, on the
other hand, does not organize his closet. When the laundry is done, he just hangs
things up in the order he grabs them from the laundry basket. His closet is all mixed
up and as a result, he has to expend some energy to pick out an outfit that matches.
We could say that Jane’s closet exhibits less entropy than Joe’s. Jane’s clothes
exhibit a greater organization than Joe’s. If one were to enter a dark room and open
Jane’s closet, there would be a greater likelihood of picking a matching outfit in the
dark than when reaching into Joe’s closet. Joe’s closet exhibits a higher amount of
disorganization or entropy.
The same sort of phenomenon happens in the house. Over time the house
becomes increasingly more disordered or disorganized and requires energy to
restore order. Note the link between energy and entropy. In other words, it takes
energy to create order from disorder, or organization from disorganization. This is
what living systems do.
At the time of the Big Bang, the universe was in a highly ordered state, a singularity
with a near infinite density. In the earliest time that we can study, there was a mix of
matter and energy with matter produced by energy. The amount of energy density
determined the state of matter. The earliest forms of matter were the elementary
particles such as quarks, photons, electrons, positrons and neutrinos. These early
forms of matter came into existence at very high densities. The elementary particles
combine to form protons and neutrons as the universe cooled and the energy
density decreased.
Forces too came into existence. There are 4 fundamental forces. Gravity is thought
to be the first to emerge and is the weakest. Gravity works on all matter. It attracts all
matter through the exchange of a particle called a graviton. Other forces are the
weak and strong nuclear forces whose effects are confined to the atomic nucleus.
The electromagnetic force acts on charged particles and is the prevalent force
pertaining to biochemical reactions. Chemical bonds occur by virtue of interactions
between molecules. These interactions are produced by the electromagnetic force.
Actually, what you feel when you touch any physical object is actually the
electromagnetic force. For example, if you touch a block of wood the hardness of the
wood is produced by interactions of the electromagnetic force between your atoms
and those of the wood.
Gravity has yet to be combined with the other three forces in a unified theory, except
for the eleven dimensional string theory. Gravity is the most familiar force to us as
we experience its effects every day. It is the force that holds our solar system
together. The planets orbiting the Sun and the Milky Way galaxy in which we live are
all held together by gravity. Our Sun produces light and heat energy because gravity
has caused it to contract to such density that elements are fused together. All matter
exhibits a gravitational field and this field interacts with other matter over long
distances.
The weak nuclear force unlike gravity has a very short range. It functions in
radioactive decay of atoms. Like gravity, the weak nuclear force does not exhibit
much strength. The strong nuclear force is the force that holds quarks together to
produce atomic nuclei. It also has a short range but is very powerful and is carried
by a particle called a gluon.
The electromagnetic force, after gravity, is probably the second most familiar force in
our lives. The electromagnetic force is carried by the photon. It is responsible for a
myriad of interactions between atoms such as chemical bonds as well as the
everyday effects of electricity we experience.
As the energy density in the early universe continued to decrease the strong nuclear
force began to exhibit an effect causing the formation of atomic nuclei. Later the
electromagnetic force fostered the production of atoms with their associated
electrons. As the universe expanded regions of non-uniform density of matter
coalesced. These were the beginnings of galaxies. Gravity exhibited its stronghold
on matter in these regions and the formation of stars began. Gravity being the force
drives the great fusion reactors in the stars fueled by hydrogen and forming the
heavier elements. When stars of certain masses exhaust their fuel they end their
lives in a dramatic explosion known as a supernova. The energy from these
explosions produces even heavier elements.
But what does this have to do with entropy or the measure of disorder? We can say
that the universe evolved from a highly ordered state of a singularity with low entropy
to its present state of much higher entropy.
We can also say that if entropy is expressed as a measure of disorder, and disorder
is a representation of the number of ways something can vary, then we can surmise
that if something varies randomly it is much more difficult to explain the relationship
between the objects.
The description of the relationship between objects in a system can be thought of as
the information in the system. In other words, an organized system contains a
different amount of information than a disorganized system. More complex systems
contain greater amounts of information than simple systems. At the time of the Big
Bang, the universe was in its most highly ordered state. As the universe evolves to a
more disordered state it's entropy increases. Entropy and information then can be
considered as part of the same underlying concept.
| Dr. Bruce Forciea's New book presents a new paradigm for healing with alternative medicine by using information channels. |
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| Entropy |
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