How can information possibly be created?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of information creation in the context of physics, particularly questioning whether information can be created or destroyed, and how it relates to mass and energy. Participants explore theoretical implications, quantum mechanics, and the relationship between information and entropy.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether the creation of information is analogous to the creation of mass or energy, suggesting that if the universe is deterministic, information cannot be injected into the system.
  • Another participant references quantum mechanics, stating that information cannot be created or destroyed, citing the no-cloning and no-deleting theorems.
  • Some participants express confusion about how information can be gained when the position and velocity of a system do not appear to become more detailed over time.
  • There is a discussion about the relationship between information and entropy, with one participant noting that an increase in entropy does not necessarily imply a gain in information.
  • Concerns are raised regarding the distinction between Shannon information and the concept of information conservation in physics, with participants questioning the validity of claims made about information being equivalent to entropy.
  • One participant expresses interest in the idea that entanglement could allow total information to remain constant despite increasing entropy, indicating a desire for further clarification on this concept.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether information can be created or destroyed, and there are multiple competing views regarding the relationship between information and entropy. The discussion remains unresolved with ongoing questions and challenges to various claims.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various sources and concepts, but there is a lack of specific citations provided to support claims. The discussion highlights the complexity of defining and understanding information in different contexts, particularly in relation to entropy and quantum mechanics.

Dalton bevill
Isnt the creation of information the same as the creation of mass, or energy, in other words, not possIble? If I am an electron and at time =0 , my position and velocity are x y z and p q r, how can i have gained information when my position and velocity at time T are x2 y2 z2 and p2 r2 q2?
My position and velocity have not become more detailed, so what gives? If the universe is deterministic, than how can information be injected into the system?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
These may help answer your question:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/physics/2014/04/is-information-fundamental/

and this where quantum information is neither created nor destroyed:

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the classical world, information can be copied and deleted at will. In the quantum world, however, the conservation of quantum information means that information cannot be created nor destroyed. This concept stems from two fundamental theorems of quantum mechanics: the no-cloning theorem and the no-deleting theorem.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2011-03-quantum-no-hiding-theorem-experimentally.html#jCp
 
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Dalton bevill said:
If I am an electron and at time =0 , my position and velocity are x y z and p q r, how can i have gained information when my position and velocity at time T are x2 y2 z2 and p2 r2 q2?

Who says you have gained information? In what source (textbook or peer-reviewed paper) is that claim being made?
 
PeterDonis said:
Who says you have gained information? In what source (textbook or peer-reviewed paper) is that claim being made?
Reading about information being equivalent to entropy (i.e. Shannon entropy). So if a gas expands to fill a larger volume, its entropy obviously has increased, but i don't understand how that means the system has gained information. The way i see it the info of where the molecules will be in the current (expanded) volume should be present in the previous (condensed) volume.
 
Dalton bevill said:
Reading about information being equivalent to information (i.e. Shannon entropy).

Where? Please give specific references to textbooks or peer-reviewed papers.

As a brief comment, "information" in the sense of Shannon information (which is actually the inverse of entropy) is not the same as "information" in the sense that term is being used when it is said that "information is conserved". Shannon information is in general not conserved (for the same reason that entropy is in general not conserved).
 
PeterDonis said:
Where? Please give specific references to textbooks or peer-reviewed papers.

As a brief comment, "information" in the sense of Shannon information (which is actually the inverse of entropy) is not the same as "information" in the sense that term is being used when it is said that "information is conserved". Shannon information is in general not conserved (for the same reason that entropy is in general not conserved).
Oh. From my reading the idea of information going down as entropy increased was a misconception of the situation but more importantly I also had felt that information (in the sense of total amount of bits required to describe a particle or system) seemed different from entropy (for some of the reasons i had stated). Do you have a link to any of the sources on how they differ? I am currently trying to find an explanation i read on a college professors website explaning how entanglement caused the total information to remain constant even with growing entropy. I couldn't help but fall in love with that idea because of my view that information growing was paradoxical.
 
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Dalton bevill said:
From my reading

I said, please give specific references. Until you do so, this thread is closed. Send me the references by PM.
 

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