First, it is probably possible to burn matter further than stars do. Stars rearrange protons and neutrons but do not change their overall number. Burning those particles would give access to hundreds of times more energy. Another (barely) conceivable form of fuel is “dark matter.” At present, nobody knows what it is, but there’s lots of it in the universe.
Second, future engineers also might be able to arrange controlled collisions of planets or dead stars, to tap into the energy the crashes liberate.
Third, future minds themselves might be able to run on very limited power. Recent theoretical work on reversible and quantum computers, and on time crystals, has shown that there’s no lower limit to how little energy they need to keep making progress, or at least to keep moving.
Fourth, since we don’t really understand what triggered the Big Bang, it’s conceivable that someday we’ll be able to engineer something similar, and thereby rejuvenate the universe.
It was a good swim. I had fun saving the universe by inventing speculative technological fixes and adaptations, spiced up with wishful thinking. The long-term future of mind in the universe is desperate, but not serious.
Unfortunately, when I emerged from the lake, it was even hotter than before. Here and now on Earth the situation is dead serious—though maybe not yet utterly desperate.
本文2022年10月01日发表于微信公众号 蔻享学术《【诺奖得主Wilczek科普专栏】延迟宇宙热寂》，风云之声获授权转载。
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