Tibetan and Himalayan Library - THL

Description: An astrophysicists looks at the notion of time in physics. He notes how time moves forward and can not be reversed. He connects this to Ludwig Boltzmann's idea that entropy (the measure of disorder) must either stay the same or increase in an isolated system (the Second Law of Thermodynamics) and that the forward progression of time can be thought of as an increase in entropy. Entropy though, he says, must be seen in context; it can only exist in a certain kind of universe and thus is highly dependent. The mistake found in the Second Law of Thermodynamics is its emphasis on an isolated system. He suggests the tendency to look at things in isolation rather than as interdependent is similar to the Buddhist idea of emptiness and relates these thoughts to his own life experiences. (Zach Rowinski 2004-06-06)