Anon_ilita: переводы

→These "coal-sacks" would tend to be oval in shape, instead of pointed at the ends, as Herschel's double drum would lead us to suppose. If we are on the southern side of the positive section, then on the southern side more irregularities would be seen, such as striations of the strip, occasionally small "coal-sacks" in other parts than where expected, while some of the irregular wavy variations on the largest face of the "brick" on the south side would result in our seeing, near this strip, apparently detached sections, presumably approximately circular. As a matter of fact, the so-called Galaxy or Milky Way has the shape indicated in the first of the two about diagrams, with exactly such irregularities as we have predicted. The shape of the coal-sacks is indeed approximately oval, and not pointed, as Herschel's theory would lead us to expect. Furthermore, such circular detached sections of the Milky Way actually do appear in the southern hemisphere, and have been phenomena which have always been difficult to explain; they are called the Magellanic Clouds, and we can see that, according to our theory, they are exactly what they look like: detached sections of the Milky Way. And, if they result from what we suppose, namely, the largest of the three southern faces of the "brick" becoming wavy and extending suddenly a great distance out, it follows that the neighboring regions, which are the opposite phase of the same waves, should be so near us that there should theoretically, around the Megallanic Clouds, be very few stars visible. This is indeed the case; the Magellenic Clouds are found in a region of the sky that is almost completely devoid of stars.

→Having thus presented a general theory of the phenomena of the universe, I will now leave the reader to compare for himself the reversibility theory with the prevailing theory of the second law of thermodynamics, and weigh the various arguments for and against each, as they have been here presented.

→The reversibility theory is presented here, as I have said before, as a possibility to be considered. It being a mere hypothesis, I have considered it fair to present not only the hypothesis itself and the arguments for it, but also the arguments against the hypothesis. I may also state that I cannot supply any satisfactory answer to most of the objections stated in Chapter XVIII.

→We thus find that not only does our theory of a reversible universe actually reconcile the theories of the infinite universe with the theories of the finite universe, but it actually enables us to predict the distribution of light in the sky much more accurately than any theory has yet been able to do. We thus see that the universe is infinite, but divided into alternately positive and negative spaces of approximately equal volume, and that the apparent stellar universe is merely the positive section in which we are. The Galaxy consists merely of the distant sides of the irregular "brick" that constitutes this positive section.

→At first I hesitated to publish my theory of the reversibility of the universe; but I was encouraged on discovering the quotation from Lord Kelvin above mentioned; so that now, knowing that this is not the first time that it has been suggested that life is a reversal of the second law of thermodynamics, I have decided to publish the work and give my theory to the world, to be accepted or rejected, as the case may be.

→At the end of the work, a number of objections to my theory are stated in order to show what objections can be adduced. I do not attempt to answer these arguments, but, for the sake of fairness to the reader, simply state them and leave them unanswered, so that the reader may decide for himself all the pros and cons of tile question, and come to a more unbiased conclusion.

→The latter part of the work, which deals with the theory of the reversibility of time and the psychological aspect of the second law of thermodynamics itself, is a purely speculative section, partaking more of the metaphysical than of the scientific However, even in that section, it is to be hoped that there will be found a basis for putting the theory of the nature of time on a scientific basis and for taking it finally outside of the domain of metaphysics.

→To quote Lord Kelvin's own words: "It is conceivable that animal life might have the attribute of using the heat of surrounding matter, at its natural temperature, as a source of energy for mechanical effect . . . .The influence of animal or vegetable life on matter is infinitely beyond the range of any scientific enquiry hitherto entered on. Its power of directing the motions of moving particles, in the demonstrated daily miracle of our human free-will, and in the growth of generation after generation of plants from a single seed, are infinitely different from any possible result of the fortuitous concurrence of atoms."

→Since the manuscript was completed my attention was attracted by a quotation from a lecture by the great scientist, Lord Kelvin, in which a theory is suggested which is very similar to mine in its general outlines; Lord Kelvin, however, does not work out the theory. He suggests that life works through a reversal of the second law of thermodynamics; and that living organisms, especially animal life, actually act the part of Clerk-Maxwell's "sorting demon." Lord Kelvin, however, regards this as an indication of some suspension of the ordinary physical laws, instead of seeking for the explanation in these physical laws themselves.

→This is in accordance with some recent discoveries. The late Prof. William James has discovered in the domain of mental phenomena what he calls "reserve energy," which later investigation has shown to be present to a more limited extent in all biological phenomena. It remained a mystery, however, where this energy came from, and the theory of reserve energy as set forth in this work suggests a possible explanation of these phenomena.

→In the theory herein set forth, we suppose that reversals of the second law are a regular phenomenon, and identify them with what is generally known as life. This changes the idea of unavailable energy into that of a reserve fund of energy, used only by life, and created by non-living forces.

→This work sets forth a theory which is speculative in nature, there being no verifying experiments. It is based on the idea of the reversibility of everything in time; that is, that every type of process has its time-image, a corresponding process which is its exact reverse with respect to time. This accounts for all physical laws but one, namely, the second law of thermodynamics. This law has been found in the nineteenth century to be a source of a great deal of difficulty. The eminent physicist, Clerk-Maxwell, in the middle of the nineteenth century, while giving a proof of that law, admitted that reversals are possible by imagining a "sorting demon" who could sort out the smaller particles, and separate the slower ones from the faster ones. This second law of thermodynamics brought in the idea of energy-level, of unavailable energy (or "entropy" as it was called by Clausius) which was constantly increasing.

→Tuesday, January 6, 1920.

→WILLIAM JAMES SIDIS

→PREFACE