- #1
musik284
- 1
- 0
question about greene's "the fabric of the cosmos"
I have a question regarding the content of chapters 5 and 6 in Brian Greene's "The Fabric of the Cosmos." Although my question results from what I see as an inconsistency in what he has presented, I'm not claiming that my logic is flawless. In fact, I'm assuming that I've misunderstood something in his writing, and I need some help figuring out what it is. So here's my dilemma:
If time is a "frozen river," meaning that past, present, and future can be thought of as the same, what sense does it make to say that the overall entropy in the universe is increasing? If the universe was ordered in the past, and is disordered in the future, then clearly the past and future are not the same. More specifically, suppose I were to hold an egg in my outstretched hand, count to 10, and then drop it and watch it break all over the floor. At the beginning of my count, my "now" is that the egg is ordered. At the end of my count (or very shortly thereafter), my "now" is that the egg is disordered. Suppose further that Chewie (the character in Greene's book who is at the other end of the universe) is at his end of the universe walking toward me at a constant speed (perhaps a few miles per hour). His "now" at the end of my count would also say that the egg is disordered, but so will his "now" from the beginning of my count. In fact, to him, the egg has been disordered for many, many years.
And so, at the beginning of my count, my "now" tells me that the total entropy in the universe is the entropy of everything in the universe minus the egg plus the entropy of the UNBROKEN egg (low entropy), while Chewie's "now" tells him that the total entropy of the universe is the entropy of everything in the universe minus the egg plus the entropy of the BROKEN egg (high entropy). If each vantage point is to be taken as valid, how can the total entropy in the universe be two different numbers at once? It appears to me as though this only makes sense if we treat entropy as a type of information that can be transmitted only at or below light speed. If this is the case, however, then the concept of "entropy of the entire universe" makes no sense.
I would appreciate any and all thoughts on the subject. I'm rather stumped and it's beginning to annoy me! Thanks in advance . . .
I have a question regarding the content of chapters 5 and 6 in Brian Greene's "The Fabric of the Cosmos." Although my question results from what I see as an inconsistency in what he has presented, I'm not claiming that my logic is flawless. In fact, I'm assuming that I've misunderstood something in his writing, and I need some help figuring out what it is. So here's my dilemma:
If time is a "frozen river," meaning that past, present, and future can be thought of as the same, what sense does it make to say that the overall entropy in the universe is increasing? If the universe was ordered in the past, and is disordered in the future, then clearly the past and future are not the same. More specifically, suppose I were to hold an egg in my outstretched hand, count to 10, and then drop it and watch it break all over the floor. At the beginning of my count, my "now" is that the egg is ordered. At the end of my count (or very shortly thereafter), my "now" is that the egg is disordered. Suppose further that Chewie (the character in Greene's book who is at the other end of the universe) is at his end of the universe walking toward me at a constant speed (perhaps a few miles per hour). His "now" at the end of my count would also say that the egg is disordered, but so will his "now" from the beginning of my count. In fact, to him, the egg has been disordered for many, many years.
And so, at the beginning of my count, my "now" tells me that the total entropy in the universe is the entropy of everything in the universe minus the egg plus the entropy of the UNBROKEN egg (low entropy), while Chewie's "now" tells him that the total entropy of the universe is the entropy of everything in the universe minus the egg plus the entropy of the BROKEN egg (high entropy). If each vantage point is to be taken as valid, how can the total entropy in the universe be two different numbers at once? It appears to me as though this only makes sense if we treat entropy as a type of information that can be transmitted only at or below light speed. If this is the case, however, then the concept of "entropy of the entire universe" makes no sense.
I would appreciate any and all thoughts on the subject. I'm rather stumped and it's beginning to annoy me! Thanks in advance . . .