IS THERE CAOS OR ORDER IN THE UNIVERSE?

You've probably heard the debate about chaos versus order in the universe. So, what does science say about this, or how should we approach it? Let's take a look at this from a scientific perspective.

WHAT IS ORDER?

The key to the debate about whether there is order or not undoubtedly lies in understanding what order is.

First, let's imagine a fictional city where everything can continue in some way. For this, we need two things: 1) the existence of rules and 2) adherence to rules. We say that countries where rules are more followed are more orderly, so it is not enough for rules to exist alone. It is equally important to adhere to the rules. We should not forget that every country has a constitution, but not every country is orderly.

So, how can we look at the order in our universe from the perspective of these two points?

Our first point is the existence of rules. When we look at the universe, the cornerstone of order is undoubtedly the laws of nature. The laws of nature are a kind of unnamed rule of the universe. In our future articles, we will examine what laws are exactly and what their structures are. However, what we need to focus on here is that these laws are the rules of the universe. Furthermore, all matter and energy in the universe float in the pool created by these laws, and there is definitely no way out of this pool. For example, gravity is one of the most basic laws of nature that everyone knows. You know that the effect of gravity will always be felt by you wherever you go. The same applies to all particles in the universe, and this is valid for all the boundaries of the universe.

Our second rule is adherence to rules. Let's continue from our example of the city. As compliance with the rules increases, the order increases. For example, compliance with rules is higher in European countries, so there is more order. When we look at the universe, all matter without exception adheres to the laws in a hundred percent ratio, and there is no way to get out of it.

If both of our options correspond to the universe, does that mean there is order in the universe, and our discussion is over? Or how is it that there are constant collisions and explosions in space, is this order?

SUPERNOVAS AND EXPLOSIONS

Looking at the universe, it is filled with chaos and explosions, which may seem like evidence that there is no order. For example, when the fusion energy of our sun runs out, it will destroy the Earth.

WHAT IS A SUPERNOVA?

All stars are made up of hydrogen, and at their core, such high energy is produced that the hydrogen atoms become tightly packed, initiating fusion. The hydrogen atoms turn into helium, and some energy is released. The fusion energy, together with gravity that compresses the core, balances each other out. However, after billions of years, all the atoms in the core undergo fusion, starting from helium and eventually ending with iron. After iron, fusion cannot occur (we will explain why in more detail in another article), and when the energy in the core runs out, the star begins to collapse under the force of gravity. The collapse process is very brief, happening so quickly that the upper layers collapse onto the lower layers for just a few seconds, causing the star to bounce and resulting in a supernova.

SUPERNOVA AND ORDER

So, how should we view the relationship between supernova and order?

Here, let's look at the parts rather than the whole, remembering that each particle here is still within the boundaries of the laws of nature that it follows. The hydrogen that undergoes fusion is still floating within the limits of nuclear physics (you can check our article on nuclear physics for more information). The collapsing star is subject to the law of gravity, so it collapses. Helium formed because it has more binding energy than deuterium, not for any other reason. Remember that laws are not a choice but a necessity.

We should evaluate the destruction of our planet through a supernova as a consequence of processes rather than going beyond the rules and causing disorder. Otherwise, every atom, every subatomic particle cannot go beyond the boundaries to which they are subject.

QUANTUM MECHANICS, RANDOMNESS, AND WAVE FUNCTIONS

1. WHAT IS A WAVE FUNCTION: One of the places where many people are mistaken and misunderstand is definitely not to equate quantum wave with everyday wave and not to think the same way (quantum wave function is explained in more detail in another article). Every quantum particle (for example, electron) has a wave function equation, and when we take the modulus square of this function, we get an equation that tells us where the particle is likely to be found. For example, an electron is 20% likely to be at point A and 80% likely to be at point B. As you can see, this wave function is not the same as the wave formation in the classical world.

Randomness and Superposition:

You may ask if this wave is not about randomness, but there are parts of the wave function that I haven't explained yet.

If an electron is located 50% at point A and 50% at point B, then this means that the electron is located at both point A and point B at the same time. Your mind may be a little confused, but the probability concept here is not the same as the classical probability concept, which we will discuss separately. When we say that the electron is located at both point A and point B at the same time, we call it superposition. For example, electrons do not exist in an orbit around the nucleus but in an area called an orbital where they have the possibility of being located. However, the electron exists at every point of this orbital at the same time and covers it like a cloud. In short, the probability here should not be interpreted as randomness.

1. PROBABILITY AND DETERMINISM: Let's briefly talk about this. The classical world is deterministic, meaning the probability of every event happening is either 0 or 1, in other words, there is no probability. You may say that there is a 50% chance of getting heads when flipping a coin, but in reality, this is due to our ignorance. If you knew the force applied to the coin, the friction of the air, you could predict with 100% accuracy which side of the coin will land facing up. In other words, our classical world is deterministic, and there is no room for probability. The event that we call probability is a result of our ignorance. The most important thing here is that the probability in our classical world is not the same as the probability in the quantum world.

PROBABILITY AND ORDER:

There is not much left to say here, but let's briefly mention that in quantum mechanics, probability does not mean that a particle can be in a different place every moment, in other words, there is no randomness involved, it's just that our brains, being a part of the classical mechanics world, have difficulty understanding these probability behaviors and superposition.

CONCLUSION - RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORDER AND SCIENCE:

If you are a keen follower of science, you know that the strongest evidence of a theory is its predictive power. If a child runs randomly in a garden, you cannot predict or anticipate their next step. However, if the child moves in a specific pattern in a specific area, you can decode their movement system and predict their next step. Similarly, science observes and understands how the universe works and what its structure is, and produces technology accordingly. Physics is perhaps the strangest of all sciences because theoretical physics initially works only with mathematics, produces equations, and adds our imagination to them to make new calculations. We tell about things we have never seen before, such as black holes, or that there is something called the Higgs boson, but we do not find them through experiments or observations, but rather by using math. Just like the example of the child, if there was randomness, we would never be able to predict the next step.