is this theory even possible according to the laws of thermal dynamics???

Question

The Eternal Return is basically the theory that there is infinite time and a finite number of events, and eventually the events will recur again and again infinitely. Consider the world as a super-complex chess game. If games of chess are played one after another forever, eventually a game will be repeated since there is only a finite number of possible games, it is the same with the world; eventually events will recur in the same order. The world is an eternal process of coming to be and passing away. The process, however, has no beginning or end. Eventually every combination of matter and energy will be realized and repeated and infinite number of times


the reason it is disturbing is because you would live this life over and over and over again. and NOTHING will change. it is exactly how you live it. there is no changing decisions. its like a broken record and is exactly the same each time around

Answer 1

No this is not possible

The laws of entropy say that entropy can only increase and never decrease so you can never get back to the exact same state you were in before

Answer 2

2nd law of TD indicates that you cannot obtain certain amount of work out of a process with the same invested energy that produced the work twice without adding more power to the process.
Entropy follows from 2nd law & indicates that in order to obtain energy a system has to lose a certain amount of mass in the process. The amount of mass lost per unit temperature is relative to the Entropy which has expended out of the system.
The more energy a system gain the more mass loss to the surrounding which appears as energy dissipated into space.
So Entropy is the energy which has expended and achieved maximun dissipation into space and cannot be reused again by the system.
In the Universe the energy lost cannot escape the Universe if the Universe is a finte closed system. Here the Universe is like the postulated black holes.
What happens to it the lost masses circulate at the outscirt of the Universe or get aborbed by other Galactic masses to becomes restructured into Atoms as temperature.
Therefore if the Universe to function as it is; it must degrade.
Just like Burning wood in a stove to have heat the wood has to degrade in the process of combustion.
Humans do not have a say so in the future of the Universe . ONLY our Creator will decide what to do with the Universe. whether He will restock it or not.

Answer 3

The theory is possible under certain conditions:

1) as you stated: infinite time, finite number of possibilities.
2) something must exist to "restart" the entropy slope (like periodic Big Crunches and Big Bangs).
3) The expected period of time between reliving the same life over again is going to be extremely long (and I mean, extremely). In fact, I wonder if the time period is not infinite. Not to worry, it is possible to fit a large number of infinite time intervals inside an infinite time period.
4) In between living the same life over again, the probability would be very high that you'd get to live some similar but not identical life.
5) In order for you to live through an identical (or similar) life, all atoms would have to be in the same state then, as they were when you began this one. Therefore, this means that all atoms in your brain will be the same as they were when you were born = no memory of the present life. Thus we must conclude that you would have no way of knowing that you are reliving the same life.

The biggest problem is at step 2. Current knowledge leads us to believe that IF there exists a periodic series of Big Bangs, it is very likely that some constants are created with random values: this means that atoms (if they are even created in the next cycle) do not need to behave in the same fashion as they do in this present cycle.
If the values are truly random, there there are an infinite number of possible state for each "constant" of nature. This means that even if we do have infinite time and the means to restart the entropy clock, it is possible that the same mix of constants fails to occur in any finite time.

In summary: if that is the case, then number 1 fails: infinite time but also infinite number of possibilities.

Answer 4

What is "possible" is that given that the universe contains a finite number of atoms, molecules etc and that these are constantly changing position and combining, de-combining and re-combining, then given enough time, the law of probability says that eventually it is a certainty that they will all be back in the same position as they are right now. What is not clear, however, is if there is enough time before the universe ends for this to happen.

Answer 5

Statistics Doesn't work like that. Sure, you here the give a million monkeys a muillion typewritters and unlimmited time and eventually you will get the collected works of Shakespear. That is isolating one piece of one mans work out of history.

If you say the same events happen in the exact same sequence with the same historical influences, the same outcomes and therefore a predictable future, hogwash. To repeat something a second time makes it different in the fact that it is a repeat, not the first occassion.

Answer 6

Sounds totally illogical. You're implying things like Columbus discovering the new world again. This sounds like a philosophical mind game.

Answer 7

Your question seems to verify the assumption that the universe is a finite entity.
One day it did not exist and one day it will go out of existence.

Answer 8

Did you just watch the movie ground hog day? In my opinion there are far to many variables as compared to constants to allow this to happen.

Answer 9

Logical theory, illogical conclusion.