Originally posted by twhitehead
Another poster (I forget who) in another thread (I forget where), pointed out that the laws of physics by definition cannot vary. It would rather be a case of a single law, whose properties or 'constants' would turn out not to be constant but vary over time and space.
“…. (I forget who)….”
That would be me 🙂
“…in another thread (I forget where)…”
I forget where too but fortunately I kept a copy of that argument in one of my files. And here it is:
Before we can assess whether there is a logical paradox in the laws of physics varying across the universe we need to define what we mean by “the laws of physics” and, in particular, we need a definition that distinguishes what we mean by general “laws” from observed physical behaviour that we can gain from everyday personal experience such as “if I drop my cup then it will probably break”. So this is the definition I give:
1, A law of physics is a rule of physical behaviour/property that holds true for all frames of reference.
Note that if I “drop my cup” in a weightless environment of space then my cup will probably not break so therefore, according to 1, that is NOT a law of physics as required because this would mean that it would not apply to frames of reference within such space.
Now to see if there is a logical paradox in the laws of physics varying across the universe:
2, to say that the laws of physics vary across the universe is to say the laws of physics are different in one volume of space from another volume of space.
3, if the laws of physics are different in one volume of space V from another volume of space V2 then the laws of physics around the origin of a frame of reference within V will be different from the laws of physics around the origin of a frame of reference within V2 and therefore the law of physics would NOT hold true for all frames of reference.
4, from I, and 3, we can deduce that if a “law of physics” are different in one volume of space from another volume of space then, by definition of “law of physics” given in 1, it is not a law of physics.
5, From 2, and 4, we can deduce that to say that the laws of physics vary across the universe is to say the laws of physics do NOT hold true for all frames of reference.
6, from 5 and 1, we can deduce that we can deduce that to say that the laws of physics vary across the universe is to say that the laws of physics are not the laws of physics; and that is a logical contradiction.
So, therefore, to say that the laws of physics vary across the universe is a logical self-contradiction.
Laws of physics vary thoughout the universe?
11 Sep '10 19:08
Back to Top