Conservation of Energy for the Universe

AI Thread Summary
The conservation of energy in the universe hinges on it being an isolated system, but there are discussions about whether this is truly the case. If the universe is not isolated, it could be gaining or losing energy, challenging traditional thermodynamic predictions. This raises questions about the ultimate fate of the universe, particularly the concept of heat death. Sean Carroll's insights suggest that energy conservation may not hold on cosmological scales, complicating our understanding of universal energy dynamics. These considerations could imply alternative endings for the universe beyond the heat death scenario.
daniellionyang
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
The conservation of the energy of the universe requires that the universe is an isolated system. Is there any way that, in fact, the universe isn't a isolated system and we would be losing or gaining energy in the universe? Also, does this possibly mean that the universe won't necessarily end in by heat death professed by the law of thermodynamics?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
daniellionyang said:
The conservation of the energy of the universe requires that the universe is an isolated system. Is there any way that, in fact, the universe isn't a isolated system and we would be losing or gaining energy in the universe? Also, does this possibly mean that the universe won't necessarily end in by heat death professed by the law of thermodynamics?
Sean Carroll on "Energy is not conserved on cosmological scales":
http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2010/02/22/energy-is-not-conserved/
 
  • Like
Likes daniellionyang

Thread '1:1 versus 2:1 Mechanical Advantage debate'

The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
View full post »

Thread 'Average velocity as a weighted mean'

Hello everyone, Consider the problem in which a car is told to travel at 30 km/h for L kilometers and then at 60 km/h for another L kilometers. Next, you are asked to determine the average speed. My question is: although we know that the average speed in this case is the harmonic mean of the two speeds, is it also possible to state that the average speed over this 2L-kilometer stretch can be obtained as a weighted average of the two speeds? Best regards, DaTario
View full post »

Thread 'Newton's first law?'

Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
View full post »

Similar threads

B Proper Understanding of Dynamical Systems and State Space
Replies
5
Views
858
Internal forces converting kinetic into potential energy (vice versa)
Replies
10
Views
2K
Question About Conservation of Energy, the Cosmological Constant and Dark Energy
Replies
3
Views
5K
Law of Conservation of energy and Wnc
Replies
8
Views
2K
I "Energy is not conserved" vs. energy is conserved: Friedmann Equations
Replies
17
Views
4K
Conservative forces, Nonconservative forces and Potential Energy
Replies
9
Views
3K
I Work Done/Energy Transferred in One Dimensional Collision
Replies
5
Views
2K
Conservation of energy across the universe
Replies
1
Views
1K
Conservation of Energy and a billiard ball
Replies
20
Views
17K
Can We Do Better Than Mechanical Energy Conservation?
Replies
9
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top