The Heat Death of the Universe Briana Wilsey
The Heat Death of the Universe Briana Wilsey
The End of the Universe n There are two main theories regarding the end of the universe n The Big Crunch n n n Occurs for a closed, spherical universe Universe returns to a very dense state similar to the beginning of the universe The Heat Death
Origins n The heat death was first proposed in 1854 by Hermann von Helmholtz n Clausius formulated the Second Law of Thermodynamics in terms of entropy in 1865
The Heat Death n Flat, open and accelerating universe n Heat Death occurs as the universe moves toward maximum entropy and minimum temperature
Entropy n Entropy-a measure of the disorder of a system n The Second Law of Thermodynamics n The total entropy of a system must always increase n Entropy increases as the universe evolves
Process n As time increases toward infinity so does the size of the universe n Average matter and energy densities approach zero
Indicators n Stars burn out n White dwarfs cool n Black holes merge, drawn together by gravitational radiation n They will eventually decay into photons and particles as a result of Hawking radiation n In some theories, protons will decay and all baryonic matter will break down into more fundamental forms
Result n Once all possible reactions have taken place, only fundamental particles and electromagnetic radiation, or heat, will remain n The universe will have reached maximum entropy and no further reactions can take place n There is not enough energy left to do work n The universe fades away
Cold Death n The universe cools as a result of expansion n Eventually it becomes too cold to support life and the universe dies out n Cold death and heat death are not the same, although they both result in low temperatures
Works Cited Hawley, John F. , Holcomb, Katherine A. (2005). Foundations of Modern Cosmology. New York: Oxford University Press. Heat Death of the Universe. Retrieved March 26, 2006, from http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Heat_death Birkedal-Hansen, Andreas, Al-Assam, Sarah. Retrieved March 26, 2006, from http: //www. physlink. com/Education/Ask. Experts/ae 181. cfm
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