New Relativity: A Unified Theory of the Organization of Matter and Energy in the Universe
An Ophthalmologist's Thought Experiment on Relativity, Entropy, and the Cyclical Universe
To set expectations correctly, I am by no means a theoretical physicist. I am an ophthalmologist, with the double-edged privilege of a long commute. I have a great deal of time to think while driving to a small-ish community in rural Missouri. I also have two brilliant children who ask profound questions—many of which lately have been about the universe. In order to explain anything to a child, a concept must be very familiar to the teacher.
Given time to ponder—and with my children providing plenty of food for thought to chew on during my drive—I have begun to tackle the theory of relativity and the origin of the universe, as one does when one has a lot of time to kill.
Einstein’s theory of relativity is one of the most groundbreaking scientific works in human history. Attempting to explain it, and how it relates to the organization of matter as understood by Einstein, requires a thought experiment. Imagine, if you will, the beginning of the universe: all matter and energy in the entire universe compressed into a single, one-dimensional point, contained within absolutely nothing. A universe with no space between atoms, in complete darkness, would be one-dimensional. The state of the universe could be summarized completely by asking a simple question—like an attendance check at school: Do we have a Mr. Universe today? Present. This can be represented as simply as a dot.
The Big Bang unleashes the contents of the universe at time zero. With every second of expansion following that moment, space is created between the compressed matter. This allows us to think of time as space, because more universe is created with every passing second. Suddenly, we have, at a minimum, the components of three-dimensional space: Z, X, and Y, if you were to graph them in relation to one another. Time is often referred to as a fourth dimension, but it may be more accurately described as a one-dimensional representation of three-dimensional space—almost a label for the current configuration of matter and energy, rather than an actual dimension itself. Each signpost of spacetime for the entire universe could be represented mathematically by its ratio of matter to energy.
T = M : E
This would mean that without matter or energy, the designation of time would not exist.
But where did all of this matter and energy come from? Haven’t the laws of thermodynamics established that neither can be created nor destroyed?
Trying to explain this using string theory or supersymmetry—to a child, let alone to myself—is extremely difficult and does not satisfy all of our questions. In my experience as a physician, I have noticed that as the number of possible treatments for a disease increases, there is a strong possibility that we are missing the real answer. There are too many ways to skin Schrödinger’s cat.
Let us return, then, to our Big Bang thought experiment to find a simpler explanation. The initial products of matter and energy formed during the outward expansion of spacetime from its central point would coalesce and begin creating more complex celestial bodies. As more central mass accumulates—eventually to the extent that light can no longer escape its gravitational pull—a black hole forms. Multiple black holes would then coalesce, collapsing galaxies into one another until nothing could escape a return to the starting point.
How, then, could our universe be expanding at an increasing rate? It may not be. From our position in local spacetime, the universe may instead be contracting at an increasing rate, and we are observing light from Big Bang products that have not yet begun to be encumbered by central gravity.
An explanation of gravity as defined by Einstein is warranted in order to continue. Gravity is a disruption in spacetime. The physical occupation of space by matter pushes out the surrounding space, creating a relative void of space where there should otherwise be a void of matter. Surrounding matter is drawn into this void of space, resulting in what we perceive as gravity.
The forces that create this effect appear to exist at the quantum level—almost like a gel of quantum spacetime that becomes distorted wherever matter exists. The most extreme disruptions of spacetime we are aware of are high-energy supernovae and the previously mentioned low-energy black holes: smaller versions of the Big Bang and what could be a universal collapse. This would essentially “reload” the Big Bang in a cyclical and eternal universe. In such a universe, energy is repeatedly squeezed out of matter gravitationally until it detonates completely, redistributing matter and energy until it is all collected again. Entropy, reintegration, entropy again.
This suggests that, on a universal scale, all energy is destined to be extracted from matter until it is reintegrated. Entropy is responsible for all phenomena that lead to the loss of energy and behaves similarly to gravity as described above. Local energy creates a void of non-energy, which pushes inward and diminishes the energy regardless of its form. This would lead to phenomena such as radioactive decay, the breakage and degradation of biological molecular bonds, and heat dissipation. Gravity, framed as a force leading to a loss of kinetic energy, could therefore be considered a form of entropy.
Viewed this way, entropy both destroys and recycles the universe. It increases as spacetime increases because space creates the energy gradient that leads to energy loss. Then gravity—generated by all of the universe’s matter concentrated centrally—recaptures that energy and allows what should be impossible: a decrease in entropy within a closed system.
Mathematically:
Entropy = Time
The mechanism for reclaiming lost energy at the universal center must involve not only gravitational condensation, but also quantum entanglement of matter with its energy.
Phenomena described by general and special relativity can still be explained by relative positions in spacetime and do not conflict with this framework.
This would also support the unconventional notion that, as a manifestation of entropy, gravity could be considered equivalent to time. One way to express this mathematically is:
Gravity = Mass : Energy = Time = Entropy
Again, I am not a theoretical physicist—just an ophthalmologist.
