162: Chapter 162: Yin and Yang, Destruction and Creation, Entropy Increase and Decrease

The living room suddenly fell silent, with only Jiang Zhe's words echoing.

Xiao Yu fell into deep thought, her beautiful eyes sparkling as if she had touched upon something.

Behind countless mobile screens, curious netizens, teachers, and experts were all captivated by this step-by-step reasoning that started from a real experiment and led to an astonishing conclusion.

What exactly was that hidden thread?

Could it really be the key that unites telepathy, the Earth and the Moon, and even transcends the speed of light?

After hearing these conclusions, Professor Zhang Qinian couldn't help but shake his head.

"This is typical layman's imagination regarding Quantum Mechanics. The reason quantum entanglement is so shocking is precisely because it doesn't need any medium to transmit information."

"In the interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, particles A and B in entanglement are themselves an indivisible whole."

"Even if you put gloves A and B on opposite sides of the universe, they would flip instantaneously."

"It's far from any medium. Quantum entanglement does not need a medium!!"

Zheng Ming immediately nodded in agreement: "Professor Zhang is right; this is the orthodox scientific view."

...

Meanwhile, in the Principal's office.

Principal Fu, Old Wang, and Xiao Wang listened. While they found it mystical, they still felt that quanta didn't need a medium.

Principal Fu scratched his head: "It sounds like there's a thread connecting the gloves on Earth and at the center of the Milky Way; that seems to make more sense, doesn't it?"

Old Wang also muttered: "If there's no thread, how does one side move when the other does?"

The physics teacher, Old Yu, sighed, dampening their enthusiasm. "It feels like there's a thread connecting glove A on Earth and glove B at the center of the Milky Way, fifty thousand light-years away..."

"But current science believes that such a thread is indeed unnecessary."

"Or rather... this is very complex and can't be explained in a few words—you just need to know that quantum entanglement doesn't require a faster-than-light thread connecting glove A and glove B."

On the other side, in the Kyoto History Family Quarter.

The four old professors looked at each other.

"Quantum entanglement?" Professor Chen Runzhi tried to understand. "So it's two things that can still be heart-to-heart even when they're far apart?"

Professor Wang Shouren shook his head: "It sounds more mystical than your historical research. Whether they were [connected to begin with] or [something makes them connected], I really don't get it."

Qian Mingyi and Professor Liu Guangyi also shook their heads; this was beyond their field of knowledge, and they simply found it incredibly profound.

At this moment, in the Huaqing University lounge.

Jiang Zhe's words sparked a heated discussion among them.

"I think what he said makes sense. There must be a connection between glove A and glove B!"

"That's classical physics thinking. Quantum entanglement is an intrinsic property—like two sides of a coin. If you see the heads side, you naturally know what the tails side is. Do you need a [medium] to tell you?"

"But a coin is a single whole. Entangled particles are two physically separated, independently existing individuals; can that be the same?"

"In the description of the quantum world, glove A and glove B can be seen as a single whole before they are observed by our naked eyes."

"..."

Every student had a point, and no one could convince the others.

Seeing this, Professor Wu said loudly: "No need to dwell on this. The fact is—quantum entanglement doesn't need a medium. You should just listen to Xiaoyu's brother's words as an extracurricular story, a thought-provoking experiment."

Professor Ouyang Bai-li, however, had a different view. "Old Wu, this isn't just some thought-provoking experiment; it's an investigation into the source."

"Xiaoyu's brother is looking for the underlying logic of all things in the world."

"Just like our five senses, which all need a medium to see, hear, and taste the outside world."

"Just like the Earth orbiting the Sun to have the right temperature and give birth to life—the medium between them is gravity."

"And quantum entanglement, although it appears to have no medium, might very well have a [medium] that we haven't discovered and cannot detect."

The lounge fell silent at this.

Li Mo and Professor Guan Jingming smiled without saying anything.

On the big screen, on the living room sofa.

Xiao Yu snapped out of her thoughts, her brows furrowed. "So brother, do you believe there's a kind of energy web or something that our current technology can't detect, spanning the entire observable and unobservable universe?"

"Something invisible and intangible that connects everything?"

After a brief pause, she asked again: "But is it possible that the rules of the microscopic world are just that strange, and quantum entanglement simply doesn't need the medium we imagine?"

Jiang Zhe nodded slightly, not dwelling on that question.

He picked up his tablet and searched for a moment, finding a simple Taiji Diagram: the black and white double fish, head to tail.

He pointed the screen toward Xiao Yu.

"Actually, our ancestors told us long ago; the black and white double fish—but let's not get bogged down in details." Jiang Zhe began to explain slowly: "Speaking of our universe—since the Big Bang, the overall trend has been toward increasing chaos, increasing dispersion, and finally moving toward a state of dead silence."

His gaze fell on the plain water on the table.

"Like this glass of water on the table, if no external force heats it up, it will naturally and slowly cool down."

"This process is called [entropy increase] in thermodynamics—it's when a thing spontaneously moves from order to disorder."

Xiao Yu nodded; she roughly understood this.

Jiang Zhe changed the subject and posed a sharp question.

"So here's the question, Xiao Yu; if the universe, from the explosion onwards, is overall on a path destined for chaos and destruction—corresponding to the [Black Yin Side] in Taiji, which symbolizes black, death, and negativity."

He pointed to the black part of the Taiji Diagram on the screen, then moved his finger to images representing the brilliant galaxies in the Milky Way.

"Then Xiao Yu, let me ask you, how were stars, and life like ours, born?"

As soon as he said this, Xiao Yu and countless netizens were first stunned, then looked bewildered.

If a universe, from the explosion onwards, is gradually moving toward destruction...

Stars, it seems, would, not, form!

Without waiting for Xiao Yu to answer, Jiang Zhe directly revealed the secret:

"Think about it, if the fate of the universe is to become chaotic, cold, and silent all the way."

"Then, something like a star, which needs to gather a massive amount of matter in an orderly fashion and ignite nuclear fusion for billions of years—such a huge, orderly, and scorching giant, theoretically, shouldn't exist!"

"Why?"

"Because the birth of a star itself is the condensation of matter from more dispersed and colder nebulae into a highly orderly, highly energy-concentrated state—this is clearly moving from disorder to order, clearly defying the overall trend of the universe toward [chaos and cold]!"

"Now, if we follow the script of the universe's overall move toward chaotic entropy increase, all matter in the universe should have remained dispersed and cold—if they occasionally bumped into each other, it should have been a messy explosion; that would fit the script of [chaos]."

"Instead of what we observe now, with burning suns everywhere in the universe!"

These words were obvious to everyone.

They left Xiao Yu and countless netizens speechless, as if a crack had appeared in a piece of common knowledge in their minds.

Meanwhile, in the Principal's office.

Principal Fu, Old Wang, and Xiao Wang were listening with confused expressions.

"Stars shouldn't exist, but the night sky is full of them?" Principal Fu looked at Old Yu in confusion.

Old Wang frowned: "Yeah, this sounds a bit contradictory!"

The physics teacher, Old Yu, suddenly widened his eyes and let out an "Ah~" of realization.

Then he took a sharp breath in excitement:

"I get it!"

"Jiang Zhe is talking about a fundamental contradiction that exists in reality!"

"entropy increase is the process of a thing, or an event, gradually moving toward chaos and destruction."

"Like a house; if no one cleans it, it will get more and more chaotic until it eventually collapses. This is an orderly house → becoming a disorderly house, and finally collapsing. This cycle is—entropy increase."

"If the universe has been increasing in entropy since the Big Bang, then like a pot of porridge that only gets more scattered the more it's stirred, it would be impossible for an exquisite cake like a star or a lively mouse like life to emerge from it on its own!"

He pointed to the white area of the Taiji Diagram on the big screen. "So, there must be another force in the universe, a force that resists entropy increase and prevents the universe from falling into chaos."

"It's precisely the [Yang Side] in the Taiji Diagram that represents [Vitality], [Creation], and [Order]."

"The universe isn't just the [Yin Side] moving unilaterally toward dead silence, but [Yin and Yang]—two opposing forces of [Destruction and Creation] existing simultaneously; opposing and resisting each other, yet interdependent."

"Brilliant! Our ancestors told us long ago, and it's no exception even when applied to the universe!"

With this analogy, Principal Fu and the other two suddenly showed expressions of realization.

"So that's how it is!" Xiao Wang exclaimed.

"Yin and Yang generating each other—to think the universe could be explained like this!" Old Wang's eyes lit up, feeling his worldview had been refreshed.

"So the stars in the sky are themselves evidence that the power of [Yang] is still at work!" Principal Fu nodded repeatedly, deeply impressed.

...

Meanwhile, in the Qingfeng Temple.

Professor Zhang Qinian wanted to say something more, but Wang Chongyang spoke first:

"Professor Zhang, don't be in a hurry. Starting from our national studies—if the universe were only Yin, it wouldn't grow; if it were only Yang, it wouldn't be born. The birth and death of all things, the formation, existence, destruction, and emptiness of the universe, are inherently the process of the flow, rise, and fall of the two Qi of Yin and Yang."

"Only through the interaction of Yin and Yang can stars revolve and life proliferate."

"This isn't superstition; it's our ancestors' comprehension of the Great Dao of the universe through observing heaven and earth."

"Xiaoyu's brother using this diagram as an analogy for the universe is the Great Dao!"

Old Wang's meaning was simple: this is the Great Dao certified by the ancestors, so don't argue, lest you get slapped in the face.

Beside him, Celestial Master Zhang nodded slightly. "Indeed, our Taoist scriptures also speak of the initial opening of chaos, the first separation of Yin and Yang, where the clear Yang became heaven and the turbid Yin became earth."

"What modern science calls [entropy increase] is actually the [Wearing down of the Yin side] in Taoism."

"And the ability to condense stars and create life is the [Creation of the Yang side]."

"Xiaoyu's brother is very professional. This is a cosmic view of physical philosophy, not the astrophysical cosmic view you studied!"

Professor Zhang was left speechless.

Beside them, Zheng Ming's eyes lit up. "Teacher, Senior Brother, what you mean is—if the universe only had the Yin side of destruction, then stars, planets, and life, these highly orderly things, wouldn't be born."

"So, there must be a [Yang side] of creation at work, preventing the universe from rapidly moving toward the Great Heat Death?"

Wang Chongyang and Celestial Master Zhang both nodded. "Exactly!"

"But I wonder what Xiaoyu's brother will use to explain what the [Yang side] actually is!"

On the big screen, in the living room, on the sofa.

Xiao Yu took a sharp breath, her beautiful eyes moving. "Brother, what exactly is that force that's preventing the universe from moving toward destruction and creating stars and us?"

"What exactly is that [Yang side]?"

"Even the ancestors didn't know what this was, right? They could only speculate that this [Yang side] existed?"

"Correct. Many foreign physicists don't just study physics; they also study my Eastern philosophical worldview, because the wisdom of ancient sages coincides with some modern Quantum Mechanics and physics."

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly and nodded.

Then he picked up the tablet and wrote two large characters in a blank area.

[Time]!