Siddharth Ramakrishnan

Writing

Negative Entropy Bubbles

December 10, 2023

In a universe ruled by the relentless march towards disorder, life manages to carve out islands of exquisite order. This fascinating paradox lies at the heart of our existence, challenging the very laws that govern our universe.

At its core, the Second Law of Thermodynamics tells us that the entropy, or disorder, of a closed system will always increase over time. The universe, being the ultimate closed system, is on an unyielding trajectory towards maximum entropy. However, there's a curious anomaly in this cosmic narrative: life itself.

Life, in its relentless pursuit of survival and growth, defies the universal trend towards disorder. Life doesn't violate the Second Law since the overall entropy of the universe continues to rise. But within this grand scale of increasing chaos, life has evolved to create localized pockets of increasing order. It's as if life is Maxwell's Demon, picking atoms one by one and sorting them into a highly intricate lattice of order.

Humans in particular stand out in this evolutionary story. We are not just passive players in the entropy game. Our consciousness allows us to intentionally direct energy and resources to expand these "negative entropy bubbles". From constructing cities to developing complex technologies, we're continuously pushing against the natural tide of disorder.

In The Last Question by Isaac Asimov (one of my favorite authors), he witfully tells a similar story of a machine expanding into the galaxies until it encompasses the entire universe itself, before then starting anew in a second big bang. This story reminds me that humans are constantly fighting against the limits of the universe, but just like Sisyphus, there's times when we might just do the unthinkable and break through them.