Claim CE441:
The universe was supposedly formed in the big bang, but explosions do not
produce order or information.
Source:
Response:
- The total entropy of the universe at the start of the big bang was
minimal, perhaps almost zero. Because it was so compact, it had
considerably more order than the universe we are in now. The
complexity we observe around us today can be produced from the ultimate
order of the hot but cooling gas of the big bang.
- The big bang was not an explosion. It was an expansion. Besides the
fact that it got bigger over time, the big bang has almost nothing in
common with an explosion.
- Explosions do produce some order amidst their other effects:
- Large surface explosions, such as nuclear bombs, produce the
familiar mushroom clouds. There are not very highly ordered, but
they are not purely random, either.
- Supernovae produce heavy elements, and the shock waves from them
compress interstellar gases, which begins the formation of new
stars.
- Powerful explosions can compress carbon into diamond crystals, the
most ordered arrangement.
- Explosions of atomized gasoline produce compressed gas, which is
harnessed in internal combustion engines to power automobiles and
other equipment.
created 2003-8-13