complexity intro
change & stability
prog. complexity
more complexity
homo nobilis
references
discovery story
implications
invitation
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The Law of Change & Stability
Here we are about to meet another vast and immensely powerful law of our universe. It is the law of Change & Stability. This law shows, and tells us, how everything in this universe works - and this means EVERYTHING !
Consequently, and especially since it is a very simple law which any kid can understand, we can also employ and use it in all of our affairs with great advantage. |
As we shall see, shortly - and given its origin - that this law explains everything is nothing less than one would expect.
Our universe was born out of a pinpoint - an "infinitesimal singularity", in proper cosmos speak - of pure energy. Consequently, everything that exists must be inherent in the nature of energy. This is true. Matter has congealed out of energy. This is also true - as Einstein' famous and now familiar equation E=mc2^ [energy=matter x the speed of light squared] shows.
Matter is always created in particle and antiparticle pairs, and when the two meet, they go 'poof' and revert back to pure energy. Our physicists have done this daily ever since they came up with the first particle accelerator.
But we don't have to worry about ever running into antimatter and going 'poof' ourselves. All the antimatter to the matter of our universe is in the other universe - in the 'anti-universe' to our's - although everyone over there is convinced that they are in the proper universe, and we are in the anti-universe. Not that it matters one bit.
Anyhow, with energy and its other form of matter we now have the stuff and substance of everything that exists in this universe - and also the first indisputable proof of the law of Progressive Complexity: Matter is a far more complex form of energy.
So, let's have a look at the nature of energy and see what we can find. The first law of thermodynamics - well proven all dealings with energy and matter - describes the nature of energy, and it goes like this:
"Energy cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only change in form"
We also know this to be true. It is impossible to create energy, or to destroy it. And in our particle accelerators, matter is changed into energy, and energy changed into matter, every day. So, this law has proven true over and over again, and it is, rightly, revered in science for its simplicity, elegance and sheer explanatory power. But, it is considered 'barren' by science, because, apparently, it does not lead to other laws.
This is far from the truth. First of all, since energy can change into matter, this law ultimately yields all of the matter in our universe. This gives us energy and matter, and thus, the physical components of everything that exists in this universe - including our kind and selves. This puts us well on our way to the realisation that everything has, indeed, its ultimate origin in the nature of energy. It now begins to become apparent that the 1st law of thermodynamics is the richest and most fecund law of the universe - as it must be, if the big bang theory is true. And indeed it is. We will also see independent proof of the big bang birth of our universe in this theory.
Since the 1st law of thermodynamics ('TD' from now on - to save pixels) appears to be the richest and most fecund law, let's look at it a bit more closely. We have already seen that energy can change form - i.e. into matter. Energy can also change from one form to another, like heat into motion (steam engines and our cars), friction into heat (rubbing cold hands to make them warmer), gravitation into motion (every flowing stream and river), motion into electromagnetic energy (electric motors, and our hydro generating stations), electromagnetic energy into heat (electric stoves, baseboard and other heaters), motion into sound (musical instruments, speakers), and so forth, and so forth.
Consequently, and as so clearly and explicitly stated in the 1st law of TD, Change is inherent in and intrinsic to the nature of energy. This now gives us the ultimate origin of all Change.
Moreover, since energy cannot be created or destroyed, the Stability of energy (as such and at its most fundamental level) is infinite - as also stated clearly and explicitly in the 1st law, as well as in the law of "The Conservation of Energy". This gives us the ultimate origin of all Stability.
We now find that both Change and Stability have their ultimate origin in the nature of energy. Consequently, Change and Stability are the bi-polar complements of the fundamental unity of energy, are inseparably interlocked, co-exist simultaneously, are relative to each other, and are inversely proportional.
Again, the ancient yin-yang symbol is also a concise illustration of the interlocked nature of Change and Stability.
energy
change  stability
With the ultimate origin of all Change and Stability we now have the fundamental driving forces of the existence and nature of our universe, and all it contains. And it appears that Stability - the factor which generates the continued existence of our universe - is primary; and Change is secondary. Without Stability, nothing could exist for more than a split nanosecond; and without Change, things would forever remain the same. But put the two together, and everything becomes possible.
So, the 1st law of TD is far from barren. As we have seen, it contains the fundamental generating and driving factors of our universe - as it must if the 1st law is correct - and it has now yielded the new, unified and immensely powerful law of Change & Stability. To illustrate:
E N E R G Y
As illustrated in this little diagram, the law of Change & Stability also gives us the new unified law of Chaos & Order - the extremes of Change & Stability - and thus, a subset of the law of Change & Stability. Again, and once more, we turn to the yin-yang symbol for a concise illustration:
energy
chaos order
The law of Change & Stability also contains and independently recovers Newton's laws of motion - albeit on a 'deeper', more general, and more fundamental level, and gives us the origin and nature of the universal law of Inertia (stability).
The law of Change & Stability is a vast, infinitely rich, and immensely powerful law; it generates and governs all physical, chemical, biological, instinctual, psychological, social, cultural, technological, economic, political and cognitive systems, anywhere and everywhere in this universe.
Among an infinity of direct applications, it gives us very powerful and concise insights into managing our planetary biosphere, our individual health and well being, our environments, our cultures and political systems, even our personal relationships. The basic insight here is that massive change is accompanied by equally massive instability (vis. the collapse of the USSR upon the introduction of democracy); and that small changes are accompanied by equally small losses in Stability (it would be a very bad idea to force China into democracy 'overnight', for instance). And as far as our biosphere is concerned, it is now clear why the large-scale changes we have made to our biosphere have caused the large-scale climatic instabilities we are experiencing now. Fortunately for us, this law also gives us the insights and means for correcting what we have managed to do in ignorance of this law.
The law of Change & Stability also contains "Strata of Stability" - which arise out of the quantified nature of energy, and its stratification into 'wavelengths'. These intrinsic Strata of Stability inherent in the nature of energy are carried over into the realm of matter, in the change of energy into matter. To illustrate:
E N E R G Y
Here, the '[]s' stand for the intrinsic and specific quanta of energy for every wavelength, and each row of []s signifies a particular wavelength. In the transformation of energy into matter, the intrinsic Strata of Stability of energy are carried over into the realm of matter - as they must be. Consequently, we encounter Strata of Stability - and all but infinitely nested (like an all but infinite number of "Russian Dolls" - one inside the other) Strata of Stability - at every level of all physical, chemical, biological, ecological, social, psychological, technical, economic, political and cognitive systems. All of these Strata of Stability are, ultimately, energy dependent.
The most familiar example of Strata of Stability are the 3 phases of water - ice, water, steam - and of course, and as it must be, these different Strata of Stability of water are energy determined. The fluid Stratum of Stability of water, for instance, ranges precisely from 1 to 100 degrees Celsius. To illustrate:
Strata of Stability also apply to all physical, chemical, biological, psychological, social, cultural, technological, economic, political and cognitive systems - anywhere and everywhere in this universe.
The existence of Strata of Stability yield several powerful insights. The first two are that all phase transitions from one Stratum of Stability - as from water to ice, and vice versa - are typically sudden (a 'hold-over' from the instantaneous transitions of the quantum realm), and that they result in distinctly different manifestations.
Another is that it takes very little energy - when close to a phase transition - to 'flip' any system from one Stratum of Stability into another. At an energy level corresponding to 99 degrees C. for instance, it takes only one additional degree to flip water from its fluid Stratum of Stability into its gaseous Stratum of Stability. This gives us very powerful means to either prevent, or cause a phase transition - be this in all physical, chemical, biological, psychological, social, cultural, technological, economic, political and cognitive systems.
Yet another powerful insight arises out of the discovery that things get progressively more 'agitated' - such as the violent 'boiling' of water - before any phase transition. These "Threshold Dynamics" (Ilya Prigogine's "Threshold Dynamics" - as described in his book "Order out of Chaos", 1984) are a powerful indicator of the state of any system, and can be either a warning, or an indicator of desired progress (as in the boiling of water - or, for that matter, of an economic or political revolution).
Additionally, and among a myriad other functions, Strata of Stability also provide the platform for quantum tunnelling, as well as for the
seamless transition from the realm of quantum mechanics to the realm of Newtonian mechanics - the 'world' we live in.
So far then, and rather than being barren, the 1st law of thermodynamics has proven to be extremely rich and fecund, and far beyond any expectations. But we now turn to its most powerful intrinsic consequences. The first law also contains the law of Progressive Complexity - the law that has created the astronomical complexity of our present day universe and, in a seamless process, the immense complexity of Life - which includes the existence of our kind and selves. This law creates, drives and governs the progressive complexity of all physical, chemical, biological, instinctual, psychological, social, cultural, technological, economic, political and cognitive systems. Here goes then:
That the law of ProgCom is contained in the 1st. law of TD is clearly shown by the indisputable fact that energy can change into matter; and matter is a far more complex thing, and a quantum leap in progressive complexity over simple, pure energy. Consequently, and obviously, progressive complexity is inherent in, and intrinsic to the nature of energy.
NEXT - the law of Progressive Complexity
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