Wallace, David (2009) Gravity, entropy, and cosmology: in search of clarity. [Preprint]

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Abstract

I discuss the statistical mechanics of gravitating systems and in particular its cosmological implications, and argue that many conventional views on this subject in the foundations of statistical mechanics embody significant confusion; I attempt to provide a clearer and more accurate account. In particular, I observe that (i) the role of gravity IN entropy calculations must be distinguished from the entropy OF gravity, that (ii) although gravitational collapse is entropy-increasing, this is not usually because the collapsing matter itself increases in entropy, and that (iii) the Second Law of Thermodynamics does not owe its validity to the statistical mechanics of gravitational collapse.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Wallace, David
Keywords:	Gravitational Entropy Past Hypothesis
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Depositing User:	Professor David Wallace
Date Deposited:	04 Jul 2009
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2010 15:18
Item ID:	4744
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Date:	June 2009
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/4744

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