The entropy of systems

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Jim</i>
<br />... I can't connect the dots in any logical way.
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Jim,

It should go something like this:

big bang (energy era)........... universe cools down (matter era ie: present time) ....... now we would be moving towards the next big bang (energy era)... and so on. This is how entropy fits this theory.

unfortunately this doesn't say how it started in the first place or if it will ever end.

But there are no present day theories to explain how the universe got here in the first place and how it will end.
Some say the universe is infinite timewise, so the entropy theory works well with this.

GD, So now you have the "we make it fit" or trim to suit for whatever comes along. The BB works very well in that environment. So have it your way but none of this explains anything as far as I can see. The BB is fine as a model but has nothing to do with how things work which is what interests me. BTW, the Germans confirmed a blackhole is at the center of the Milkyway.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Jim</i>
<br />...how things work which is what interests me...
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Jim,
How things work? .... Energy transfer within matter. The rate of change depends on the size of a mass and its position in a system.
A system evolves with time because of this principle.

Energy transfer would be your answer.

GD, Now that you have given me the answer I'll get back to watching the grass grow and quit wasting energy on this thread.

Yes Jim, the grass grows because of the principle of energy transfer.
I see you now understand everything.

Energy transfer at a cost though: energy loss is the result of this process.

I have a last comment:

Since energy can neither be created from nothing or disappear from the universe, once energy is transferred (or produced) from matter (ie: radiation, light...etc), in what way is this process reversed such that the quantity of matter in the universe remains the same ?

Tom, thanks for letting me express my views on your board.

Jim, and everyone: have a happy holiday!