The discussion centers on the implications of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics in a hypothetical scenario where a flashlight is turned on in a vast, empty universe. It concludes that despite the inability to recover photons emitted by the flashlight, the overall entropy of the universe still increases due to the energy dissipated as heat from the flashlight's battery. The conversation also touches on the concept of the universe's boundary and references the holographic principle related to black hole entropy.
PREREQUISITESPhysicists, cosmologists, students of thermodynamics, and anyone interested in the fundamental laws governing energy and entropy in the universe.
Crazy Tosser said:I stand on the outermost planet orbiting the outermost star of the outermost galaxy of our universe. I turn on my flash-light and I can be sure that the beam of light will not hit any object.
Crazy Tosser said:After I turn it on, I cannot recover the photons or prove they ever existed, so does it mean I decreased the entropy of the universe, in a sense? 2nd law violation?