In the world about us the past is distinctly different from the future more precisely we say that the processes going on in the world about us are asymmetric in time or display an arrow of time yet this manifest fact of our experience is particularly difficult to explain in terms of the . Physical origins of time asymmetry book read reviews from worlds largest community for readers in the world about us the past is distinctly different. Physical origins of time asym metry jj halliwell j perez mercader and w h zurek cambridge university press 1994 515 pages lthough time plays a critical role in the theory of relativity and much of modern physics and chemistry the nature of time remains a complete mystery since our subjectivity as conscious beings is all that distinguishes the present moment from all others time . The origins of time asymmetry in thermodynamics the minus first law harvey r brown and jos uffink this paper investigates what the source of time asymmetry is in thermodynamics and comments on the question whether a time symmetric formulation of the second law is possible keywords thermodynamics entropy second law statistical mechanics 1 introduction many authors have addressed . People history careers education info about contact us submit content advertising resources gradschoolshopper buyers guide webinars whitepapers industry innovations jobs during the covid 19 pandemic physics today is providing complimentary access to its entire 73 year archive to readers who register home physics today volume 48 issue 9 101063 12808167 01 september