Civilizations fall much faster than they rise

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Entropy rules.

It takes masses of energy to form and maintain a bond/system. It takes very little to weaken the bond and destroy it.

Once the bonds are down they are gone - there is no FOF in physics or history.

-- R (riversoma@aol.com), September 01, 1999

Answers

Like, I thought bonding energy (like all other things in nature) was conserved, ie. the energy forming the bond is equal to that released when the bond is broken. Of course, the release may take the form of an exothermic process...

-- Spidey (in@jam.commie), September 01, 1999.

Think of it as a dissipative structure. As in many simpler self-organizing systems, introduction of energy into the system gives rise to order or structure, which dissipates the energy. Think, for example, of a hurricane. Energy input from the sun. Dissipation by means of the formation of a vortex. The history of the system is determined by the energy input to the system. When the energy input is reduced the structure quickly disintegrates (as when the hurricane moves over land).

Our civilization is a similar dissipative structure, albeit many orders of magnitude greater in complexity. It is a structure dependent on continuous energy input at or near current levels. If the energy available to the system is reduced, the structure quickly disintegrates. If energy flow can be restored rapidly, the structure may retain some measure of integrity. If not, there is a die-back. The old structure can never be restored, as these are irreversible processes. When energy flows are eventually restored, new structures will form to dissipate that energy.

These things do indeed happen very rapidly. The big question is how much of the energy flow that we currently command are we going to lose, and how long for restoration?

Godspeed,

-- Pinkrock (aphotonboy@aol.com), September 01, 1999.


Thanks Pinkrock!

You explained that so much better than I could have.

-- R (riversoma@aol.com), September 01, 1999.


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