Advances in modern science have made our lives better. Let us live from thatched houses leaking on all sides into sturdy steel buildings, from no. 11 bus fast forward to unmanned autonomous vehicles, from ten miles of different tones to global synchronization, technology has changed our world. But some scientific theories give us fear.
Tips: Inception is a film directed by Nolan and starring Leonardo. The film tells the story of a dreamer played by Leonardo, who leads a team of agents into other people's dreams, steals secrets from others' subconscious, and reconstructs others' dreams.
I believe that everyone has seen Leonardo's "Inception", although the action scenes in it are very good, but the core of the whole drama is chilling. Our thoughts can be tampered with at will, or implanted with a memory that does not belong to us. Where is the boundary between the real and the unreal? In fact, there is such a surprising theory in physics, the Boltzmann brain.
Boltzmann and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Boltzmann's brain is a hypothesis proposed by a scientist named Boltzmann based on the second law of thermodynamics. Boltzmann, whose full name is Ludwig Boltzmann, was an Austrian physicist and one of the founders of thermodynamic and statistical physics. His greatest contribution was the combination of statistics and the second law of thermodynamics to derive the theory of equal division of energy and boltzmann entropy theory, proposing the use of "entropy" to describe the degree to which objects change from order to disorder.
Tips: Boltzmann's most important scientific contributions are molecular kinematics, which includes the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, which studies the velocity of gas molecules, maxwell-Boltzmann statistics based on classical mechanics, and boltzmann distributions.
The second law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of entropy increase. The laws of thermodynamics proposed by the German scientist Clausius in 1850. Described is an irreversible process that "heat cannot be spontaneously transferred from a low-temperature object to a high-temperature object.". This theory becomes, under further development, that entropy in isolated systems never decreases actively, and entropy does not change in reversible processes and increases in irreversible processes. On this basis, Boltzmann introduced probability and statistics, further explaining the law of entropy increase as the evolution of the increasing representation system of entropy from a more ordered state to a more disordered state.
In daily life, hot water will always become cooler, ink will drip into the water and the whole glass of water will turn black, and broken cups will not stick automatically, etc. all reflect the law of entropy increase, that is, isolated systems always evolve in a more chaotic direction. It's like every time you finish your chores, the room becomes messy again in two days. Because entropy is always an irreversible process of moving in one direction, just as time can only go forward forever, it is also called the "arrow of time".
Tips: Entropy (pinyin: shāng) refers to a measure of the state of certain material systems, and the extent to which certain material system states may occur. It is also used by the social sciences as a metaphor for the extent to which certain states of human society are.
But at the microscopic level of physics, time is symmetrical and has no direction. For example, if we watch a movie, whether it is placed in the front or backwards, we can understand the story told by the film. You throw a sphere from a tall building, and when you put it down, we see the ball going down in free fall, and when you put it upside down, the ball goes up slower and slower. In both cases, however, the ball accelerates, so that gravity is always symmetrical, only the phenomenon is asymmetrical, and when time is compressed to a near pause for only a moment, the two states are almost the same.
The symmetry of time is in conflict with time, and a paradox has been proposed in response to this phenomenon. Loschmitt's paradox, also known as the inversion paradox, refers to the fact that if a microscopic particle that meets the inversion of time is applied in the opposite direction, in the process of motion, there will be entropy reduction, which violates the principle of entropy increase. This paradox is very sharp and points to the core of the law of entropy increase.
Tips: If you construct a closed time curve and realize the reverse transfer on the timeline, it theoretically exists, but at this time, each coordinate is irrational, that is, there is a strong space-time oscillation, and the transmission cannot be completed, so the time reversal cannot be realized.
After a painful period of time, Boltzmann proposed that the process of entropy increase is not a necessary process, but a statistical one. In a macroscopic system, entropy does not always increase, but there is a high probability that it will increase. That is, the probability of entropy increase is extremely high, and the probability of entropy decrease is extremely low. This is the famous boltzmann definition of entropy.
The universe originated from low entropy
Since in a system, the probability of high entropy is extremely high, and the probability of low entropy is extremely low. According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy always increases, and extrapolating it back indicates that the original system was most likely in a low-entropy state. That is to say, the universe began to evolve from low entropy to high entropy. But where does the low entropy state come from?
Tips: Thermodynamics is a discipline that studies the thermal motion properties and laws of matter from a macroscopic perspective. It belongs to the branch of physics, which, together with statistical physics, constitutes the macroscopic and microscopic aspects of thermal theory, respectively.
According to Boltzmann's theory, the probability of high entropy occurring in a system is extremely high, while the probability of low entropy occurring is extremely low. How did the original low entropy come about, created out of thin air by God or aliens? As Holmes said about the impossibility of eliminating everything, then the rest, no matter how unbelievable, must be the truth. Today's low entropy is 99.9% likely to have evolved from a state of high entropy. That is to say, the origin of the universe is from high entropy to low entropy, which is a process of entropy reduction. Because it was originally low entropy, it is only now evolving towards high entropy. So does this process of entropy reduction violate the second law of thermodynamics?
Tips: Heat content refers to the heat required for a substance per unit mass to heat from 0 °C to T °C called the heat content of the substance at T °C.
Boltzmann said that the law of entropy increase is only a phenomenon of fluctuation in the evolution of the universe, and there are always accidental "fluctuations" near the thermal equilibrium state. That is, it fluctuates up and down around its maximum value, and the larger the amplitude of the fluctuation, the smaller the probability of occurrence. But this does not violate the universal principle of the law of entropy increase. For example, the common cola soda, the small molecules of carbon dioxide gas in the water, constantly moving against the bottle body make us feel the continuous pressure. The collision intensity and number of these gas molecules are different, but the results obtained are not much different, but because the base is too large, the gap is ignored by us.
I believe that everyone has heard the story of indiscriminate numbers, among the many musicians there are one or two laymen mixed in, under normal circumstances we will not find the difference, only when playing alone will find the "Mr. Nanguo" in it. The same is true of these small molecules, even in a system, there will be differences between them, and the force of each impact will fluctuate slightly, and these fluctuations are fluctuations.
Tips: Soft drink, a refreshing drink. Seal about 2 to 3 atmospheres of carbon dioxide in sugar water, there will be part of the carbon dioxide gas dissolved in the water, carbon dioxide in the water to form carbonic acid, soda to give people the kind of irritating taste is because of carbonic acid.
The probability of high entropy occurring in the whole system is indeed very large, but low entropy is not impossible. As long as it is long enough, a group of gorillas can learn simple calculations. As the old saying goes, as long as the kung fu is deep, the iron pestle is ground into a needle. As long as the waiting time is long enough, then magical small probability events, such as winning the jackpot and alien landing on the earth, are possible. This small probability event is the result of "fluctuations". In the ups and downs, the larger the fluctuations, the less likely it is, and the small fluctuations often occur, just like the sea is rising at any time, but the large tsunamis rarely occur. However, as long as you wait long enough, there will still be big fluctuations.
According to Boltzmann's theory of rising tides, in the long evolutionary history of the universe, most of them have been in a state of high entropy and remained in this state. But occasionally there are some fluctuations, although not very obvious on the macro level, but it does not mean that there are no fluctuations. When the universe is long enough, at some point it will be discovered that there have been great fluctuations in the universe, so large that there is a low-entropy universe like ours.
Tips: Tides, a natural phenomenon that occurs in coastal areas, refers to the periodic movement of seawater under the action of the tidal forces of celestial bodies (mainly the moon and the sun).
So the low-entropy universe we live in is a small probability event that occurs in the fluctuations of the universe, which is an inevitable fluctuation in a long time. The emergence of our universe is a process of entropy reduction, but we are now in a state of increased entropy and are returning to thermal equilibrium.
Boltzmann brain
The universe is enormous, and the probability of great fluctuations is extremely low. The probability of our low-entropy universe appearing is smaller than a few hundred billionths, and even smaller than the probability of Ultraman's appearance of King Kong. But since we exist in this universe, it proves that we have fluctuated. The entire universe is too grand, and the farthest galaxy we can observe is the Milky Way, which contains countless celestial bodies, which may be in this fluctuation and may support life.
Tips: The Milky Way Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy in which the solar system is located, with an elliptical disk shape and a huge disk structure, and the latest research shows that the Milky Way has four clear and fairly symmetrical spiral arms, which are 4500 light-years apart.
But obviously there is life in a solar system, so is it the rise and fall of the solar system? After all, the probability of fluctuations that we can observe in some parts of the universe is much greater than the probability of fluctuations in the entire universe. Thinking about it like this, is it only the Earth-Moon system that has risen and fallen? Or only the Earth has risen and fallen, and compared with the solar system, the probability of occurrence around the Earth is greater.
Taking it a step further, it's just our brains that have risen and fallen. In the vast universe, a brain rises and falls in a very small atmosphere, which is much more likely to rise and fall than the entire universe. The brain has all the consciousness and memory of a human being, just like a host computer. It will receive all the signals around it that the universe is what it observes, and that there is no life in the universe except it. All the physical phenomena and histories we observe do not actually exist, and we are thus deceived into this being the Boltzmann brain. There are more than seven billion similar brains in addition to us.
Tips: The Boltzmann brain, in layman's terms, means that over an infinite period of time, anything that could happen will happen, and it will happen countless times, such as a brain that thinks the universe is what it is, and this brain is called the Boltzmann brain.
From Boltzmann's brain also extends the "brain of the tank", assuming that a mad scientist takes a person's brain out and puts it in a large vat filled with nutrient solution to sustain life. The brain's nervous system is then connected to a computer, which relays information to the brain to keep him alive and well. For this man, his daily life is still the same as before, drinking coffee, walking his dog, and going on vacation to the beach every day is not at all different. You can even be entered into a piece of information and a beautiful love affair occurs.
Tips: "Brain in a Vat" is a hypothesis expounded by Hilary Putnam in his 1981 book Reason, Truth, and History.
What you think of as real normal life is actually a memory entered by a computer. We're like characters in the game, thinking that everything is their own decision is actually a player's instruction. Boltzmann's brain can rise and fall spontaneously out of self-consciousness, and a false memory is even more hand-picked. This is much simpler than rising and falling out of a low-entropy universe.
epilogue
Boltzmann's laws of the brain are derived from the second laws of statistics and thermodynamics, but it is paradoxical to conclude that none of these laws exist. So Boltzmann's brain and the brain in the vat are just paradoxes. The development of modern science is a dynamic, and new discoveries are made every day, that is, the principles and theories we see now have been constantly established, overthrown, and re-established in the course of thousands of years of history.
Tips: Self-awareness, also known as self, refers to an individual's awareness, experiences, and desires for various physical and mental states. It has the characteristics of purpose and agency, and it plays a role in regulating, monitoring and correcting the formation and development of personality.
The development of science is a process. For example, the second law of thermodynamics is also a law in modern physics that has been studied by several scientists such as Clausius, Maxwell, and Boltzmann. Therefore, these theories are not perfect, they are flawed, and perfecting these theories requires a long period of accumulation of research.
In the case of Boltzmann's brain, the basis of his existence is the law of entropy increase. The law of entropy increase has two requirements, one is a closed system, and the other is no external interference. And our universe is not a closed system, although the part we are currently observing is very small, but it does not mean that the universe is only as large as we observe. So the law of entropy increase at this level does not hold, so the Boltzmann brain does not exist.
Tips: Cosmic Universe Universe, in the physical sense, is defined as all space and time (collectively referred to as space-time) and its connotations, including all forms of energy, such as electromagnetic radiation, ordinary matter, dark matter, dark energy, etc.
From the point of view of life, our human life activity has not always evolved in the direction of increasing entropy, but has decreased entropy. While replenishing energy from meat and vegetables, we also release a lot of energy outward. Based on this principle, the Belgian scientist Ilia proposed the "theory of scattered structure". As our science continues to advance, there may be many theorems that cannot explain physical phenomena, but over time these mysteries will eventually be solved one by one. Just like the ancient people's understanding of the earth from the beginning of the round place of the sky to the current spherical shape, from the center of the earth to the heliocentric theory, from pangu to the big bang of the universe.
Tips: Dissipative structure theory is the science of studying the properties of dissipative structures and their laws of formation, stability, and evolution. Dissipative structure theory takes open systems as the research object and focuses on how open systems move from disorder to order.
Human exploration and curiosity about the unknown is the bridge to promote scientific progress, although the Boltzmann brain is a paradox, but it is undeniable that this possibility exists, it allows people to study the truth, but also indirectly promotes the development of science.