Heat death of the universe (nonfiction): Difference between revisions

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[[File:Lord_Kelvin.jpg|300px|thumb|Lord Kelvin originated the idea of universal heat death in 1852.]]The '''heat death of the universe''' is a possible ultimate fate of the universe in which the universe has diminished to a state of no thermodynamic free energy and therefore can no longer sustain processes that increase entropy (including [[Computation (nonfiction)|computation]] and life).
[[File:Lord_Kelvin.jpg|thumb|Lord Kelvin originated the idea of universal heat death in 1852.]]The '''heat death of the universe''' is a possible ultimate fate of the universe in which the universe has diminished to a state of no thermodynamic free energy and therefore can no longer sustain processes that increase entropy (including [[Computation (nonfiction)|computation]] and life).


Heat death does not imply any particular absolute temperature; it only requires that temperature differences or other processes may no longer be exploited to perform work.
Heat death does not imply any particular absolute temperature; it only requires that temperature differences or other processes may no longer be exploited to perform work.
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== In the News ==
== In the News ==


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File:Green_Lantern_Rebirth_6.jpg|link=Power ring (DC Comics) (nonfiction)|[[Green Lantern (nonfiction)|Green Lanterns]] are not going to let this "Heat death of the universe" go down without a fight.
File:Green_Lantern_Rebirth_6.jpg|link=Power ring (DC Comics) (nonfiction)|[[Green Lantern (nonfiction)|Green Lanterns]] are not going to let this "Heat death of the universe" go down without a fight.
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Revision as of 15:59, 19 March 2017

Lord Kelvin originated the idea of universal heat death in 1852.

The heat death of the universe is a possible ultimate fate of the universe in which the universe has diminished to a state of no thermodynamic free energy and therefore can no longer sustain processes that increase entropy (including computation and life).

Heat death does not imply any particular absolute temperature; it only requires that temperature differences or other processes may no longer be exploited to perform work.

In the language of physics, this is when the universe reaches thermodynamic equilibrium (maximum entropy).

In the News

Fiction cross-reference

Footnotes:

Nonfiction cross-reference

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