AskPhysics

439 readers

1 users here now

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

Woda@lemmy.world

[Review Request] The Universe Will Not Die a Heat Death (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 weeks ago by nikaaa@lemmy.world to c/askphysics@lemmy.world

4 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I just wrote this article and I would like your comment:

The Universe Will Not Die a Heat Death

We assume that the universe is expanding according to the Lambda-CDM model with a fixed Lambda constant.

Imagine a central star, like our sun. Two artificial satellites are orbiting this sun in circular orbits in opposite directions. As the universe expands, the orbits of the satellites are elevated, and the satellites thus gain mechanical energy (the sum of potential and kinetic energy). This energy can be released by causing the satellites to collide or by simply having them graze each other. As a result, some of their kinetic energy is converted into heat, which can be radiated away as thermal radiation, and the satellites descend to lower, more inward orbits. The process can then begin anew.

top 4 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] HakFoo@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Over time, won't the chances of grazing reduce-- they eventually slip into orbits too distant from each other, fall to the host star, or swing out until they escape the local gravity well?

[–] nikaaa@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

yes, as I understand it, the process described above is indeed unstable, that means, if it occurs in nature, then it will either eventually escape the host star or fall into the host star.

However, I believe that with additional intelligent regulatory circuitry, the process could be regulated well enough such that the process remains within certain boundaries, i.e. practically stable.

Such a process could be used to supply humans with energy for an indefinite time, long after the sun has burned out its hydrogen. It does, however, require intelligence and some bit of control. I have left out the description of regulatory circuitry in the above description for brevity.

[–] A_A@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

i like it. There has to be ways to make some cosmological theories where the universe is eternal : in this direction, please also look at my post here :
... "quantum particle creation could play a role in the creation of matter in the universe after the end of an inflationary era" ...
... at lemmy world.

[–] nikaaa@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

please see my comment at the linked post