-- *Mar*You’re asking a very deep and very old question, one that sits at the intersection of *physics, mathematics, and philosophy*:
*Why does nature seem to avoid exact extremes?* *And is there a mathematical law that prevents catastrophes like asteroid impacts?* Let’s separate what is *law*, what is *statistics*, and what is *appearance* . ------------------------------ 1. Does nature really “forbid extremes”? Nature does *not* forbid extremes in general. It forbids *certain exact limit states*. Examples of *forbidden* extremes These are blocked by fundamental laws: - Absolute zero temperature → forbidden by thermodynamics & quantum mechanics - Speed of light for massive objects → forbidden by relativity - Exact zero entropy in a physical system → forbidden - Exact position *and* momentum → forbidden (uncertainty principle) These are *mathematical boundary points*, not just unlikely events. Examples of *allowed but rare* extremes - Supernovae - Black holes - Gamma-ray bursts - Asteroid impacts - Mass extinctions So when it comes to *asteroids*, we are *not* in the “forbidden extreme” category. ------------------------------ 2. Why do many asteroids cross Earth’s orbit but don’t hit Earth? This is where *probability and geometry*, not prohibition, dominate. Key fact: *Crossing an orbit is not the same as crossing the planet.* Earth’s orbit is a thin curve in space. Earth itself is a *tiny target* on that curve. Scale comparison - Diameter of Earth’s orbit: ~300 million km - Diameter of Earth: ~12,700 km So even if an asteroid crosses Earth’s orbit: - It must be at *the same point* - At *the same time* - With *the right vertical alignment* That’s a very small probability. ------------------------------ 3. The mathematics behind it: phase space Physics uses a concept called *phase space*. Each asteroid is described by: - Position (3 dimensions) - Velocity (3 dimensions) That’s a *6-dimensional space*. A collision with Earth corresponds to an *extremely tiny region* of that space. Mathematically: - Most trajectories miss - Only a measure-zero set leads to impact No law prevents impact — the *geometry makes it unlikely*. ------------------------------ 4. Why impacts still happen (and have happened) Earth *has* been hit: - Dinosaur extinction (~66 million years ago) - Tunguska event - Chelyabinsk meteor - Many ancient craters So there is *no protective mathematical law*. What *does* exist is: - Long timescales - Low probabilities - Large numbers Given enough time, rare events occur. ------------------------------ 5. Why it *feels* like nature avoids extremes This is partly *selection bias*. Anthropic effect You are here *because*: - Earth has been stable long enough - Catastrophic impacts are rare *on human timescales* If impacts were frequent: - Complex life wouldn’t persist - There would be no observer to ask the question This is not mystical — it’s statistical conditioning. ------------------------------ 6. Are planetary systems mathematically stable? Yes — *but only approximately*. - Planetary systems are *chaotic* - Small changes grow over long times - Stability exists over millions to billions of years, not forever Mathematically: - Short-term predictability - Long-term uncertainty This is well understood in *nonlinear dynamics*. ------------------------------ 7. So is there a “law of avoidance”? No. There is: - Conservation laws - Stability regions - Resonances - Probabilistic geometry - Chaos theory But *no law that says*: “An asteroid crossing Earth’s orbit must not hit Earth.” Nature does not *avoid* extremes — it *makes them statistically rare* or *physically forbidden* depending on the case. ------------------------------ 8. Unifying insight Here is the key distinction: Situation Why the extreme is not reached Absolute zero *Forbidden by law* Speed of light *Forbidden by law* Asteroid impact *Allowed, but unlikely* Planetary stability *Temporary, not absolute* Nature is not gentle. It is *lawful + statistical*. ------------------------------ Final takeaway - Mathematics describes *all* possibilities - Physics tells us which are *allowed* - Probability tells us which are *likely* - Observation tells us which ones *happened* If you want, we can go one step further and ask the hardest question of all: *Why do the laws themselves have boundaries at all?* That question leads straight into the foundations of reality. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCLPdizo2TpnKu5H0%3DK8vFBPfr79aWgD2fcfUu%2Bxxn4-gg%40mail.gmail.com.
