From: g.scholten@nospam.gmx.de   
      
   Lawrence Crowell  wrote:   
      
   > Einstein was certain the universe was an eternal static system.   
   > What we observe as increase in entropy and so forth are in the end   
   > just local fluctuations.   
   > [...]   
   > This does not preclude the fact that star formation and large scale   
   > structures we observe are transient. This is if you consider billions   
   > or even trillions of years transient. Poincare recurrence is very   
   > long for a cosmology, T ~ 10^{10^{100}} years.   
      
   In a static universe, Poincare recurrence theorem applies, that's   
   correct, but that does not mean that it would be correct to say that   
   star formation would "continue forever". Star formation would last maybe   
   some trillions of years and stop then, for starting again after one   
   Poincare recurrence cycle, which would be much longer than the trillions   
   of years star formation lasted (and will last again this cycle). So, for   
   the most time, there wouldn't any star formation.   
      
      
   > Entropy is a scalar and in cosmological models it does remain   
   > constant.   
      
   That depends on how precise the model is. In a very rough model, one   
   simply assumes total homogenity and isotropy, in a more precise model,   
   one takes into account that there are little inhomogenities (like   
   galaxies or proto-galactic clouds), and in an even more precise model,   
   one takes into account the entropy is increasing.   
      
      
   > On a deeper level we appear to be recognizing that spacetime is a   
   > manifestation of quantum entanglements, Raamsdonk et al, and that   
   > quantum information is conserved. The appearance of thermodynamic   
   > entropy is then a sort of local configuration of quantum information.   
      
   Currently, this is a highly speculative idea which is far away from   
   being considerable as a certain insight. So, if we restict ourselves to   
   consider fairly certain knowledge only, we needn't discuss this here.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)