2019/11/30 by George F. R. Ellis, George F R Ellis, Barbara Drossel · 20 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Arrow of time #Asymmetry #Block (permutation group theory) #Function (biology) #Philosophy of science #Quantum #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #Second law of thermodynamics #Wave function collapse #gr-qc #physics.class-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s10701-020-00331-x
published in Foundations of Physics 50(3), 161-190 (Springer Science+Business Media) · 31 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Revised in response to comments received. Second author added
arxiv created 2019/12/02 · openalex publication_date 2020/02/07 · arxiv updated 2020/03/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Microphysical laws are time reversible, but macrophysics, chemistry and biology are not. This chapter explores how this asymmetry (a classic example of a broken symmetry) arises due to the cosmological context, where a non-local Direction of Time is imposed by the expansion of the universe. This situation is best represented by an Evolving Block Universe, where local arrows of time (thermodynamic, electrodynamic, gravitational, wave, quantum, biological) emerge in concordance with the Direction of Time because a global Past Condition results in the Second Law of Thermodynamics pointing to the future. At the quantum level, the indefinite future changes to the definite past due to quantum wave function collapse events.