RE: Is the universe infinite?
November 17, 2014 at 9:23 pm
(This post was last modified: November 17, 2014 at 9:24 pm by Heywood.)
(November 17, 2014 at 4:02 pm)Spacedog Wrote: "According to one of the most basic laws of physics, known as "the second law of thermodynamics", the amount of disorder - or "entropy" - in the universe is constantly increasing. However, this does not mean that order or organization or complexity cannot increase anywhere in the universe - it can, but only at the expense of a yet greater net increase in disorder in the universe as a whole. Thus the net entropy of the universe as a whole always increases, even for processes which cause a local increase of order and complexity."
In a closed system entropy can achieve a maximum....so his statement that entropy always increases isn't necessarily true. In order for the net entropy of the universe as a whole to always increase you need the universe to be an open system. A model like Eternal Inflation allows for the net entropy of the universe as a whole to always increase.
