Arrows of time in unconfined systems

TL;DR

This paper explores the origin of the arrow of time in unconfined systems, challenging traditional thermodynamic concepts derived from confined systems and proposing the need for new theoretical frameworks.

Contribution

It argues that the conventional understanding of entropy and time's arrow may be incomplete for unconfined systems like the universe, suggesting new concepts are necessary.

Findings

Traditional thermodynamics may not apply to unconfined systems

Existing theories fail to explain the universal arrow of time

New conceptual frameworks are proposed for unconfined systems

Abstract

Entropy and the second law of thermodynamcs were discovered through study of the behaviour of gases in confined spaces. The related techniques developed in the kinetic theory of gases have failed to resolve the apparent conflict between the time-reversal symmetry of all known laws of nature and the existence of arrows of time that at all times and everywhere in the universe all point in the same direction. I will argue that the failure may due to unconscious application to the universe of the conceptual framework developed for confined systems. If, as seems plausible, the universe is an unconfined system, new concepts are needed.