Note: this topic is from . Thanks MtnClimber.
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Posted on 12/05/2017 9:12:07 PM PST by MtnClimber
The dominant explanation of the formation of star and galaxy clusters is flawed and misrepresents the nature of time, a team of Brazilian researchers claim, in a new study that uses simulations to explain a long-standing paradox in a process called ‘violent relaxation’.
Clusters of stars and galaxies are tight groups of celestial bodies shackled together by gravity. Star clusters contain up to one million stars with a common origin and are up to 30 light-years across, while collections of galaxies are among the largest structures in the Universe, composed of up to 1000 galaxies with a mass of a quadrillion Suns.
In the study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, the researchers report the results of complex computer simulations of the puzzling gravitational dance of these massive objects.
Such groups form in a maelstrom followed by a calming-down process called violent relaxation, when the celestial bodies settle into their new arrangements and reach a state of equilibrium.
Violent relaxation has always been understood through the lens of the Vlasov equation, which was developed by Russian theoretical physicist Anatoly Vlasov in 1938 to describe the changing distribution of particles in plasma. It was applied to this phenomenon to approximate how thousands of stars and galaxies interact and rearrange their positions over time.
The new study, however, questions whether this understanding is valid.
(Excerpt) Read more at cosmosmagazine.com ...
Scientists came up with these models.
The models can’t be wrong.
“Fluctuating entropy “ has a nice syncopation that might make a good tune.
“What the fluctuating for?” is a question only asked with careful enunciation.
The science was settled long ago. Why do they keep bringing up things that were settled? They ought to be prosecuted and jailed for doing that.
The new study, however, questions whether this understanding is valid.
No questioning allowed, after all, it is science.
I see what you did there... very good!
We will never know as much as we don’t know, never.
Evolution doesn’t work for stars either. “He made the stars also.”
Consider that last line *SO* stolen...
Heh. Someone who appreciates fine humor, I see. LOL
Kinda like doing a number two. Jus’ sayin’...
What a great name for a band: The Cluster Flux.
Heh. I like that.
Quote: But Vlasov’s equation assumes that entropy stays the same. This suggests that time is ‘reversible’, which clearly cannot be the case (My aside: there may be a problem with that assumption: Quantum experiment reveals time really CAN flow backwards.)
Quote: ... the team needed to conduct complex numerical simulations, each of which took several days of computer time.
Quote: The simulations showed that the overall entropy does increase. But the team also found that at the beginning of the relaxation period, the entropy of the system actually fluctuates, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing.
Quote: “No other types of system display entropy oscillations that I know of, bar one: chemical reactions in which the compound produced serves as a catalyst for the inverse reaction,” Sodré said. “As a result, the reaction switches to and fro, and entropy in the system oscillates.”
Note: this topic is from . Thanks MtnClimber.
At a guess, they are talking about Globular Clusters, not open clusters.
Globulars form around a black hole, and, some things that we call Globulars (like Omega Centaurus) are actually dwarf galaxies.
Open clusters are the residue of a nebula like the Orion Nebula. Once enough stars light up, the extra gas is swept away. But the stars remain.
I don’t think we can observe for long enough to get an answer.
I think you are absolutely correct!
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