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From WIRED, again. Sometimes they have good stuff.
In the early 1970s, people studying general relativity, our modern theory of gravity, noticed rough similarities between the properties of black holes and the laws of thermodynamics. Stephen Hawking proved that the area of a black hole's event horizon—the surface that marks its boundary—cannot decrease. That sounded suspiciously like the second law of thermodynamics, which says entropy—a measure of disorder—cannot decrease.
Yet at the time, Hawking and others emphasized that the laws of black holes only looked like thermodynamics on paper; they did not actually relate to thermodynamic concepts like temperature or entropy.
Then in quick succession, a pair of brilliant results—one by Hawking himself—suggested that the equations governing black holes were in fact actual expressions of the thermodynamic laws applied to black holes. In 1972, Jacob Bekenstein argued that a black hole's surface area was proportional to its entropy, and thus the second law similarity was a true identity. And in 1974, Hawking found that black holes appear to emit radiation—what we now call Hawking radiation—and this radiation would have exactly the same "temperature" in the thermodynamic analogy.
[...] But what if the connection between the two really is little more than a rough analogy, with little physical reality? What would that mean for the past decades of work in string theory, loop quantum gravity, and beyond? Craig Callender, a philosopher of science at the University of California, San Diego, argues that the notorious laws of black hole thermodynamics may be nothing more than a useful analogy stretched too far.
After what Hawking said about philosophy, I think that astrophysicists need a bit more perspective.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Thursday September 12 2019, @08:11PM (3 children)
It has been established: socks disappear while hangars increase. Thus: socks are hangar larvae.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 12 2019, @10:46PM
Paper clips are hanger larvae. Hangers are abandoned bicycle larvae.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday September 13 2019, @06:25PM (1 child)
Hangars? As in buildings?
I think you mean: Hangers. As in closet / clothes hangers.
Or what I once in my youngster daze called "hookers" because of the characteristic hook.
That doesn't work so well in certain situations. What, only three? I'm going to call the front desk and demand they send at least a dozen more hookers up to our room right now!
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday September 13 2019, @06:41PM
Closets are for hangers, winners use the door.
🌻🌻 [google.com]