Does all matter exist forever?

Question

I was reading about non-duality (spirituality / philosophy) that discusses the idea that everything in reality is one, since any matter can become any other matter, (a tree can become a chair and a human can become worm food...)

So this leads to my question, is it true that all matter (including all of the atoms / strings you and I are made of), will always exist, that the smallest particles that comprise us and everything around us will always exist in one way or another?

If so, then aren't we all basically immortal? If not, how can matter become nothing?

Answer 1

There's an interesting angle that Aristotle came up with in the wake of the discovery/invention of atoms by Leucippus & Democritus. According to them atoms are indivisible, permanent elements of reality that retain their identity from the beginning of time to its end, or simply throughout time. All substances arise from their collisions, or their configuration, and dissolve when these disperse.

A asked what happens when two atoms collide at their point of collision. Imagine them to be hard, impermeable balls of matter, like for example the balls used in snooker or a game of billiard; now, if their boundaries are apart, that is their boundaries are not touching, then they have not yet collide or, it is after they have collided; if their boundaries are touching at some point such that there is no gap between them then we cannot say that they have preserved their identity. Hence atoms as conjectured by Democritus/Leucippus cannot exist in the way that they imagined them.

Epicurus thought well enough of this argument that he conjectured a minima for their approach; one could think of this as some kind of inter-atomic force, a very similar argument can be made to work in classical physics, ie Newtonian; the other possibility of course is that atoms do not retain their identity under all conditions. Then matter is not permanent in this sense.

Answer 2

Probably no.

The proton decay, not yet proven but rather probable, will destroy all structures of atoms, i.e., of what we call matter. There will remain particles like leptons and structures like positron-electron pairs.

Answer 3

Matter can also theoretically become energy, in which case it would cease to exist as matter. Even if that energy were condensed back into matter somehow (which may or may not be feasible), it still wouldn't be the particles it once was.

Answer 4

No/yes, and no

Does all matter exist forever?

No, because matter can become energy, in accordance with Einstein's famous formula E=mc².

Nuclear power demonstrates this. If you weigh the fuel as it goes into the reactor, and then weigh the fuel and all of its waste products as it comes out again, the used fuel and the waste weighs less than the unused fuel. The difference in mass is the energy that has been released.

Another example is annihilation. When an antiparticle meets a particle, they are destroyed and their mass becomes energy.

So no, mass does not need to exist forever.

But if we then modify the question:

Does all mass and energy exist forever?

Yes it does, in an isolated system.

The question is if we can consider our universe an "isolated system", since it is constantly expanding, but it is rather safe to say that mass and energy cannot be destroyed.

Does that mean we exist forever?

No, it does not. Our mass and energy may always exist, but in the end they will be useless. Because every spontaneous action increases entropy.

Entropy may be a difficult concept to understand but put very simplistically: entropy is a measure of how much waste energy there is. Energy is considered "waste" when it cannot do any useful work.

By contrast, energy that can do useful work is called exergy.

We humans need exergy to function. The physical processes that drive our bodies and our minds require exergy. Without exergy, we cannot exist. We would just be lifeless matter, completely lifeless even down on a very basic physical level in that we could not even affect any kind of chemical or nuclear reaction to happen.

And this is what eventually will happen. It is one of the basic laws of physics that — in an isolated system — the amount of exergy can only decrease, and the amount of entropy can only increase. This process cannot be reversed. In the end, all exergy will be spent, and only entropy remains. This this state is called the heat death of the universe.

And when we reach that state, we will be no more.

Answer 5

I was reading about non-duality (spirituality / philosophy) that discusses the idea that everything in reality is one, since any matter can become any other matter

Please note, non-dualism is not monism. Also, to realize it, a non-dualist must transcend intellectual level. And 'there', your atom, string etc have no meaning at all. When you say one, you treat all things as one and you as another. So to avoid this, non-dualists use this term -- non-dual.

And the word 'become' also becomes meaningless when viewed from the highest level.

Pure consciousness (it is one and undivided) is the only 'thing' that is immortal. All other names and forms are mortal. In Non-duality, basically (if it is the utmost base) there is no difference in you and I. The Bhagavad-Gita doesn't agree the idea of creation from nothingness. See: Chapter 2, Verse 16

Of the transient there is no endurance, and of the eternal there is no cessation. This has verily been observed by the seers of the truth, after studying the nature of both.

The following interpretation of a prayer can clear your doubts.

O, God! You are indeed the very process of creation of the Universe. You are the creator of the Universe. And You are yourself the entire creation too. Again, You are the prime source material out of which the entire creation are so produced.

Three words are often mentioned as attributes of the Supreme God: Omni-potent, Omniscient, Omni-present. God is all Powerful; was always there and pervades everything in the universe. Before this universe came into being, God was there. He will be there even after this Universe disintegrates – after period of time. So, he is Endless. God created the Universe as a result of His will; not because of any external influence, nor using any material outside Himself. Thus, the concept of creation was in Him. He is the creator of the universe; He did not need any outside help. And, whatever is created by Him, is also manifestations or various forms of He Himself! And hence, He is present in everything in the universe; and there is no place where He is absent.

The essence of this is the realization that ‘I’, ‘ This Universe’ and ‘God’ are not different entities, but different aspects of one and the same – the ‘Brahmam’ – Supreme Godhead.

The underlying idea conveyed is that there is only One God for the entire Universe. And, this God fills the entire Universe as well. Hence, you and I and each one of us are all part and parcel of that supreme God.

Answer 6

To your first question, "Is it true that all matter (including all of the atoms / strings you and I are made of), will always exist, that the smallest particles that comprise us and everything around us will always exist in one way or another?," I will say, "Yes, it is factually true." The universe, by definition, is the largest container of matter. Science tells us that we are made of stardust.

To your second question, "If so, then aren't we all basically immortal?," I will say, "Yes, if you mean by immortality the differing configuration of matter."

Why are your questions philosophically relevant? The reason is that your way of reasoning is the source for the idea called eternal recurrence. While the idea has been organic in the Eastern world view (e.g., Buddhism with the reincarnation and retribution (Karma) theories of the universe and human existence), it also gained some popularity in the 19th century in Europe. Heinrich Heine, from whom Nietzsche is believed to have borrowed the idea of eternal recurrence, explains the idea like this:

Time is infinite, but the things in time, the concrete bodies are finite.... Now, however long a time may pass, according to the eternal laws governing the combinations of this eternal play of repetition, all configurations that have previously existed on this earth must yet meet, attract, repulse, kiss, and corrupt each other again...

Nietzsche regarded eternal recurrence as a burden of the heaviest weight. But why should it be? It could be the source for the delightful lightness of being, like the happy Sisyphus of Camus.