Dr. N.L. Kachhara
We know that the fundamental constituent of matter is paramanu. The energy of a paramanu can be divided into three categories for our purposes:
- Thermal energy, described as sheeta (cold) and usna (hot) touches.
- Electric energy, described as snigdha (positive charge) and ruksa (negative charge) touches.
- Kinetic energy, or motion.
The paramanu can change its energy mode spontaneously so that one form of energy changes into another. The paramanu does not stay in the same mode for very long. In particular, thermal energy may change into electric energy and vice versa. So, we have paramanus in which the electricenergy is very small compared to thermal energy and also paramanus in which the thermal energy is very small compared to electric energy. Theoretically the cosmos can exist in three ways:
- Thermal cosmos a thermal system with limited electric energy
- Electric cosmos an electric (or magnetic) system with limited thermal activity
- General cosmos a system in which both thermal and electric (or magnetic) energy are important
The state of a free paramanu is unpredictable; it can move with different velocities, from zero to very high velocity, and can occupy any position in the cosmos. The paramanu is thus associated with the highest uncertainty. With the formation of clusters in a vargana, the freedom of motion of the individual paramanu is subjected to restrictions, thereby reducing its uncertainty. This reduction in uncertainty gives rise to some order in the arrangement of the paramanus in the vargana. The order is increased in higher varganas, whichhave parmanus in the bonded state. The order is still higher in the matter comprised of the twentythird type of Gross Matter Vargana.
The bonding between two paramanus takes place when the difference in theirelectric charge exceeds a minimum level. This shows that a high electric charge (or magnetism) increases order in the system.
The processes taking place in varganas, including clustering, de-clustering, bonding, and separation, are spontaneous. In the lower, massless varganas, the paramanus simply cluster without bonding and de-cluster easily. The process happens randomly and is not expected to change the overall order in the cosmos. In the higher-mass type of varganas that are in the form of energy, bonding and de-bonding is an electrical activity that must not disturb the overall order in the system. Scientific findings show that 70 percent of the mass of the universe is in the form of dark energy. As described in the last chapter, some of the higher varganas may comprise this kind of energy. We therefore expect that this 70 percent does not contribute to the disorder in the universe.
The other 30 percent of the mass of the universe is supposed to come from dark and ordinary matter, about 25 percent of which is said to be dark matter. We know very little about dark matter, and our knowledgeof the applicability of the laws of science is limited to the visible matter that is about 5 percent of the total. Over 99 percent of the visible mass of the universe is contained in stars and therefore their activities are important from the view of order prevailing in the universe.
The thermal processes taking place in matter are subjected to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that, in an isolated system like the universe, the entropy is always increasing. We have stated above that the universe can be regarded both as a thermal system and an electrical system and that the system can change its mode from one type to another spontaneously. This has important implications regarding the overall order in the universe.
There is scientific evidence that verifies a spontaneous change in the mode of a system. In a process known as adiabatic demagnetization, a reversible change in the temperature of a suitable material is caused by exposing the material to a changing magnetic field. "In this type of refrigeration process, a sample of solid such as chrome-alum salt in which the molecules are equivalent to tiny magnets is placed inside an insulated enclosure and cooled to a low temperature, typically 2 or 4 Kelvin. A strong magnetic field is then applied to the container using a powerful external magnet, so that the tiny molecular magnets are aligned to form a well-ordered "initial" state at this low temperature. The magnetic alignment means that the magnetic energy of each molecule is minimal. The external magnetic field is then reduced, a removal that is considered to be closely reversible. Following this reduction, the atomic magnets then assume random, less-ordered orientations owing to thermal agitation, in the "final" state. The "disorder," and hence the entropy associated with the change in the atomic alignments, has clearly increased. In terms of energy flow, the movement from a magnetically-aligned state requires energy from the thermal motion of the molecules, converting thermal energy into magnetic energy. Yet, according to the second law of thermodynamics, because no heat can enter or leave the container, due to its adiabatic insulation, the system should exhibit no change in entropy. The increase in disorder, however, associated with the randomizing directions of the atomic magnets represents an entropy increase. To compensate for this, the disorder (entropy) associated with the temperatureof the specimen must decrease by the same amount. The temperature thus falls as a result of this process of thermal energy being converted into magnetic energy. If the magnetic field is then increased, the temperature rises again."
The above example of adiabatic demagnetization shows that:
- Thermal and magnetic energy can mutually interchange spontaneouslyin an adiabatic system.
- The order in the system depends on both thermal and magnetic energy.
- At a low temperature, thermal and magnetic energy have opposing effects on ordering.
These observations, though made under specific conditions, do support the hypotheses of Jain philosophy that the universe can be regarded both as a thermal and an electrical (or magnetic) system, and that the overall order in the universe is jointly determined by these two modes.
