is this impossible according to the laws of thermodynamics and entropy?????

Question

Is this theory even possible according to the laws of thermal dynamics???
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. its like a broken record and is exactly the same each time around. historical events repeat etc.

Answer 1

That's all based on the assumption of the universe being infinite. Current doctrine in physics suggests that the universe is not infinite. So no, that won't happen. Entropy alone dictates it, by the fact that in any given point in time, you can't have less entropy one day than you had previously, meaning previous states of the universe are unattainable due to entropic restrictions.

Answer 2

Hello, I like to pretend to be a professional physicist, so I will address your question. Is it "impossible"? No, it is not impossible, IF!

The IF is assuming that the entire universe is a finite state machine, in which case, yes, it will repeat endlessly. That's the short answer, and you'd be right, and we'd have this creepy endless deja vu.

But is it a finite state machine? We have a lot of reasons for believing that it isn't a finite state machine, so that it will never repeat itself. For example, in quantum physics, events occur purely probabilistically, meaning that there is absolutely NO deterministic cause-and-effect reason for something to happen, like a spontaneous photonic emission from an excited electron orbital dropping to a lower state. Earlier physicists have initially rejected this interpretation of quantum physics, but experiments in recent decades have proven this to be a fact. For another example, a growing consensus among physicists today believe that there is a fundamental limit to how small things can be, length, distance, time, which is called "Planck Scale" (you can google this). It means that spacetime has no meaning at all at scales smaller than Planck Scale, in which case any deterministic reality is out of the window. That would mean that the universe would never repeat itself.

The link given is on the subject of "hidden variable" theories proposed in early 20th century as an effort to regain determinism in quantum physics. It failed.

Answer 3

Thermodynamics and entropy aren't needed to refute this theory. Each of thousands of facts we know about the universe is enough to refute it. The universe is expanding. Genetics doesn't revert. Recorded human knowledge compounds. The early estimate I heard (George Gamow/Bertrand Russell?) of the number of particles in the universe is two to the 256 power. Partition the size of the known universe into cubes with the dimension of the Planck length for an unimaginably huge number of spaces on the chessboard. This theory is suitable only for fiction.

Answer 4

Yes, its impossible.

Keeping asking the question will not make it possible.

If you don't accept the words of a professional physicist, try reading the link below.

Answer 5

Whats the point?

Why does it matter to you if reality is that way. You should still live the best life you can.