fr293
fr293 t1_jcrn2xs wrote
Reply to We're often taught that objects travel to lower energy states to reach stability. But the energy of the universe is constant - doesn't that just mean other surrounding things go to higher energy states? What decides which thing gets to have low energy? by SMM-123Sam
Why do you think that the energy of the universe is constant? If you have an isolated system that is small enough that relativistic effects can be neglected, then energy is conserved. In systems as large as the universe, it’s not so simple. But if we are dealing with closed systems in which energy is conserved, then the flow of energy is determined in the most coarse sense by the second law of thermodynamics, which tells us that heat cannot move to from one body to a hotter body.
fr293 t1_jctq3cv wrote
Reply to comment by mesouschrist in We're often taught that objects travel to lower energy states to reach stability. But the energy of the universe is constant - doesn't that just mean other surrounding things go to higher energy states? What decides which thing gets to have low energy? by SMM-123Sam
What my man cygx said. But more generally, I wanted OP to articulate the principles that they were using to arrive at their conclusion. It’s a fool’s errand to answer a question without understanding the context that produced it.