This strikes me as a bit of a game. The second law of TD applied to
closed systems (obviously) and one can always think of an open system
where TD's second law does not apply. However, one must eventually come
up with the universe as a closed system by definition (if it's open,
it's not the universe)
Chuck Vandergraaf (who does not have immediate access to the book you
cite)
>----------
>From: Jan de Koning[SMTP:dekoning@idirect.com]
>Sent: November 18, 1997 2:11 PM
>To: asa@calvin.edu
>Subject: Second law of Thermodynamics
>
>
>>Moorad wrote:
>Moorad wrote:
>>
>>The second
>>law of thermodynamics came about in order to unify all the irreversible
>>phenomena observed in nature. But the question of why there is a law like
>>that or how did the universe start is quite a different issue.
>>
>Not everyone agrees with this law. I am not a physicist but as far as I
>know it only holds for closd sytems. It has not been show to be true for
>open systems. See for example Price in Time's Arrow (Oxford, 1996). Page
>7 in the Introduction: "Why was entropy low in the past? The chapter (2)
>concludes with adiscussionas to what it is that really needs to be
>explained about the assymetry of thermodynamics." See page 262 as well,
>where chapter two is condensed.
>
>Jan de Koning
>Willowdale, Ont.
>