When human beings walked out of the earth, we saw the vast and mysterious universe. Since seeing the vast universe, human beings have become more and more interested in the universe. In the eyes of many people, the universe is vast and vast. It may have no boundaries and no end. It can continue to expand forever.
Will the universe continue to expand? For this question, scientists once did not have an answer, but since a physical law appeared, it seems to let us see the future of the universe.
There are many laws of physics in the scientific world, and they constantly reveal the mystery of matter, the mystery of the world, and the mystery of the universe. And these laws of physics are not created by human beings, but various scientific rules that have appeared at the same time since the day the universe was born.
Mankind’s exploration and research of science is nothing but the continuous excavation of various scientific rules hidden in the universe. As scientific laws continue to be unearthed by us, humans have become more and more aware of the material world, which not only changes people’s lifestyle and quality, but also allows us to go out of the earth and explore the universe.
How many scientific laws exist in the universe, no one can give an answer, and what scientists most expect is to be able to find a law to reveal the future of the universe. And this law was finally discovered by us. It is the law of entropy increase, and we call it the second law of thermodynamics.
The law of entropy increase is a great physical theory, and it is also a law that makes people very desperate. So what is the charm of this law of entropy that makes us feel desperate? The content it expresses is actually very simple, it tells us the level of confusion of matter and energy.
The law of entropy increase tells us that whether it is matter, energy, or everything in the universe, their development needs to follow the objective laws of nature. After reaching a certain stage, they will inevitably die. And this is an irreversible process. The degree of chaos described by the law of entropy increase is irreversible. From the moment a thing is born, the entropy value will continue to increase, the thing will become more and more chaotic, and finally perish. It is not only on the surface of life, but also on the life of celestial bodies, and even the future destiny of the universe.
There may be some friends who cannot understand the law of entropy increase. Why is the degree of chaos irreversible? In fact, as long as we think about it carefully, we will understand that we all know that energy is the essence of the development of things. The movement and development of any thing requires energy, and energy consumption is irreversible.
Let’s take a simple example: we need to consume electricity to boil water, and the source of electricity is through various energy sources, which can be chemical energy, wind energy, solar system or other transformation methods. So why does the law of entropy increase reveal to mankind the future of the universe?
If the universe is unique and a closed space, then the energy in this closed universe will continue to be consumed over time. From the moment the universe was born, the entropy value continued to increase from 0. The continuous increase in entropy value also means that the energy of the universe is constantly being consumed. The stability of the universe will get worse and worse and chaotic.
We all know that the universe originated from the Singularity Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. The universe has been expanding rapidly since its birth. It has expanded 13.8 billion years now. Will this expansion process continue? Some people might think that the expansion of the universe will continue forever.
However, the law of entropy increase tells us that this is impossible. The expansion of the universe requires energy, and as the energy of the universe becomes less and less, the expansion of the universe will eventually stop. So is cessation the end of the universe? Of course not. When the energy of the universe is not enough to support its expansion, it will stop first.
Even if the expansion of the universe stops, the consumption of energy will not stop, and it will continue to be consumed as the universe moves. And as energy continues to be consumed, the universe becomes more and more unstable, and the stopped state cannot be maintained, but begins to collapse inward. This is because without the energy-supported universe, the entire cosmic space will continue to shrink until it finally returns to the original state singularity again.
This is the final outcome of the universe that the law of entropy increase tells us. Through this, it also makes us think that the universe may have a kind of reincarnation. Scientists once speculated that the universe may have evolved through reincarnation, and our current universe may have re-evolved after the destruction of the previous universe.
Of course, although the law of entropy increase reveals that the degree of chaos is irreversible, there is a premise for the degree of chaos, that is, it must be in a closed space. The entropy of human beings is a bit different from the entropy increase of some things. We can regard the human body as a closed space. In the closed space of the human body, as the entropy increases, we will continue to age and eventually die.
However, there is space outside of human beings. We can continuously absorb energy from the external space through food or other means, and fight against the increase in entropy, thereby continuing aging, so that we have an ever-increasing lifespan. Of course, because the space outside the human body also has the law of entropy increase, the entire space will become more and more chaotic, so we cannot achieve immortality. At most, the power of science and technology allows us to absorb more and more external energy. As the degree of resistance to entropy becomes greater and greater, the life span will be longer and longer.
As for the final outcome of the universe, we also have to consider another situation, which is multiverse. If scientists in the future prove that the universe is diverse and that there are even more vast universes outside the universe, then our universe can also continue to absorb energy from outside the universe to resist the increase in entropy, so that our universe can exist more. A long time.
In any case, the discovery of the law of entropy increase is still not good news for mankind. It tells us the final outcome of things, no matter how hard we try, we cannot reverse the law of entropy increase, and cannot reverse things eventually go to extinction. Of course, we shouldn’t be too desperate. Although the law of entropy increase is irreversible, we can continue to increase the value of entropy by relying on the ever-increasing power of science and technology, allowing things to exist for a longer period of time.