The progress of science is always accompanied by fantasy and theology, from Greek mythology and Pangu to modern conjectures and fantasies about various unsolved mysteries, all of which expound the love and desire of human beings to explore the universe and life.
Scientific and technological breakthroughs are always a difficult thing, so there is no shortage of whimsical ideas in literary works and scientific literature, and the "Laplace Demon" we talk about today is one of them.
The universe is full of mysteries and unknowns, and the tiny people on Earth are always full of infinite fantasies about the unpredictable future.
Weak human beings, confined to the earth on which they depend, are full of worries and desires for their own situation. Scientists' research on the physical and life sciences is increasing, and they have found that the future is uncontrollable, seemingly random universe, but may be full of laws and rules that have not yet been discovered by human beings.
As a result, people's desire to control the future is growing, and some people have asked whether there is a "great god" in the universe who manipulates the operation of the entire universe in various ways that human beings cannot think of? Scientists are also constantly wondering, is there really such a creature in the universe that can see everything and predict the future?
In 1814, the French mathematician Pierr-simonlapras proposed a scientific hypothesis: there was such a "demon" in the universe that could clearly know the exact position and momentum of each atom in the universe, and could use Newton's laws to show the entire process, past, and future of cosmic events.
Firmly convinced of this determinism, Laplace wrote at the beginning of the introduction to his work: "We can regard the present state of the universe as the fruit of its past, and as the cause of the future."
If a wise man could know the forces of all natural motion and the position of all naturally composed objects at a given moment, if he could also analyze these data, then the motion of the largest object to the smallest particle in the universe would be contained in a simple formula.
For a smart man, nothing is vague, and the future will only appear before him as it did in the past. This conjecture is what posterity calls Laplace the "wise man", that is, laplace demon.
Scientists generally agree that this conjecture is undoubtedly frightening. Imagine if there were such a terrible creature who knew both the past and the future, then each of us would have been doomed at the beginning, or even before it began. Fate seems to be like ancient Chinese fortune telling, an unchangeable track.
Fortunately, science evolves in a constant process of proof and falsification. After Laplace, the emergence of modern quantum mechanics and the study of interpretation have made the theoretical basis of Laplace more questionable.
Particle physicist and theologian Johnpolkinghorne pointed out that even in the context of Newtonian mechanics, due to the uncertainty of the position of electrons, the position of gaseous oxygen molecules that collide with other molecules 50 times (within about 0.1 nanoseconds) is invalid, that is to say, it is almost impossible to theoretically control the occurrence and development of all matter.
In his book Growth and Development (published in 1986), chemist Robert Ulanowicz proposed the second law of irreversible processes, entropy, and thermodynamics in physics, a discovery that made the Laplace Demon impossible.
The possibility of laplace demons is based on the reversible processes of classical mechanics that occur and develop, while the theory of thermodynamics states that physical processes of reality are irreversible, or to some extent irreversible.
In addition, an interesting limit has been raised about the ability of laplace demons to analyze data. This limit is determined by the universe's maximum entropy, the speed of light, and the time it takes to transmit information through plank length, which is about 10^120. Within the time frame since the birth of the universe, it seems impossible to have more data than this number.
Since then, the scientific hypothesis of laplace has been declared completely falsified, and the realization of this proof is a scientific progress, and it is also the good fortune of mankind. Laws in the universe do exist, but a theological thinking cannot influence the development of human beings, and the material world may also have invisible consciousness, but there will be no "great God" to manipulate us. What do you think?
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