Exploring Symmetry: Time, Space, and Conservation Laws

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In summary: In that case, I would say that information is conserved in the sense that any change in the state of a system does not change the amount of information that is available about that system.
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JayJohn85
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Is time and space symmetric? Or am I misunderstanding symmetry in the physical sense? Also according to noether theorem you'll get corresponding conservation laws to the symmetries which prompts the question of what is symmetrical to the conservation of information law.
 
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Some aspect of a system is symmetric if that aspect of the system remains invariant under some transformation. The most fundamental symmetry is CPT symmetry.

Charge (C) - Does the system remain unchanged if we change the sign of the system's charge?

Parity (P) - How does the system change if we change the sign of a single spatial coordinate?

Time (T) - Does the system change if time were reversed?

As far as we know, all systems obey CPT symmetry. To answer your question, we would need to see whether a system has some sort of symmetry associated with it. If a system remains invariant with respect to time, say, then that system has a symmetry associated with time.

Noether's Theorem makes a 1-1 correspondence between conservation laws and symmetries. For example, energy conservation is due to the time invariance of systems. As for "conservation of information law". If this is the law that Dembski proposed, he is full of crap. His reasons for proposing such a law is his opposition to biological evolution.
 
  • #4
JayJohn85 said:
Is time and space symmetric?
One of the isometries of Minkowski space-time is a Lorentz boost, which "mixes" time and space coordinates. This is as close a thing that I can think of relating to what you said.
 
  • #5
Thanks for the replies some really good patient people here.

Though having said that I am confused once again. Isn't that law that Dembski proposed used in black hole theory I aint so sure but wasn't the black hole war fought over the whole loss of information thing?
 
  • #6
JayJohn85 said:
Is time and space symmetric? Or am I misunderstanding symmetry in the physical sense? Also according to noether theorem you'll get corresponding conservation laws to the symmetries which prompts the question of what is symmetrical to the conservation of information law.
So, Noether's theorem relates differential symmetries in the Lagrangian to conserved quantities. The fundamental Lagrangians that we know about all seem to have certain symmetries. One is that they do not change with shifts in time, this leads to conservation of energy. Another is that they do not change with shifts in space, which leads to conservation of momentum, and so forth.

I am not sure what you mean by conservation of information. Are you referring to Liouvilles theorem?
 

FAQ: Exploring Symmetry: Time, Space, and Conservation Laws

What is symmetry in physics?

Symmetry in physics refers to the property of a physical system remaining unchanged under certain transformations such as rotation, translation, or reflection. This means that the system will look the same before and after the transformation, indicating a balance or harmony in the system.

How does time relate to symmetry?

Time symmetry in physics refers to the idea that the laws of physics remain the same regardless of the direction of time. This means that a physical process will look the same whether time is moving forward or backward. This concept is closely related to the conservation of energy and the conservation of momentum.

What is the role of space in symmetry?

Space symmetry in physics refers to the idea that the laws of physics remain the same regardless of the position or orientation of an object in space. This means that the laws of physics are uniform and do not change based on the location or direction of an object.

What are conservation laws and how do they relate to symmetry?

Conservation laws in physics refer to the fundamental principles that certain physical quantities remain constant in a closed system, such as energy, momentum, and angular momentum. These laws are closely related to symmetry, as they are based on the idea that physical processes exhibit balance and do not change over time or in different positions.

How does the study of symmetry contribute to our understanding of the universe?

The study of symmetry in physics allows us to better understand the fundamental principles and laws that govern the behavior of the universe. By understanding the symmetries present in the physical world, we can make predictions and calculations about the behavior of systems and objects, and better comprehend the underlying structure of the universe.

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