Physics & Complexity

The Universe Runs Down — Four Laws That Tell You Why

The four laws of thermodynamics govern energy, heat, entropy, and the direction of all physical processes — from steam engines to black holes.

The Flap That Changes Everything — and the Limits of That Metaphor

Sensitive dependence on initial conditions: why tiny differences in starting states produce vastly different outcomes in chaotic systems.

The State That Exists Until You Look

Quantum superposition: particles exist in multiple states simultaneously until measured — a feature of reality, not a limitation of knowledge.

Objects Keep Doing What They Were Doing

Newton's first law applied beyond physics: why systems in motion stay in motion and systems at rest stay at rest — unless something acts on them.

Systems Push Back Against Change

Le Chatelier's principle: when a system in equilibrium is disturbed, it responds in a way that opposes the disturbance and restores balance.

The Act of Looking Changes What You See

Heisenberg's uncertainty principle: there is a fundamental limit to how precisely you can know certain pairs of properties simultaneously.