Text 1
The idea that time moves in only one direction is instinctively understood, yet it puzzles physicists. According to the second law of thermodynamics, at a macroscopic level some processes of heat transfer are irreversible due to the production of entropy—after a transfer we cannot rewind time and place molecules back exactly where they were before, just as we cannot unbreak dropped eggs. But laws of physics at a microscopic or quantum level hold that those processes should be reversible.
Text 2
In 2015, physicists Tiago Batalhão et al. performed an experiment in which they confirmed the irreversibility of thermodynamic processes at a quantum level, producing entropy by applying a rapidly oscillating magnetic field to a system of carbon-13 atoms in liquid chloroform. But the experiment “does not pinpoint ... what causes [irreversibility] at the microscopic level,” coauthor Mauro Paternostro said.
Based on the texts, what would the author of Text 1 most likely say about the experiment described in Text 2?
Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:
(Choice A) It is consistent with the current understanding of physics at a microscopic level but not at a macroscopic level.
A
It is consistent with the current understanding of physics at a microscopic level but not at a macroscopic level.
(Choice B) It provides empirical evidence that the current understanding of an aspect of physics at a microscopic level must be incomplete.
B
It provides empirical evidence that the current understanding of an aspect of physics at a microscopic level must be incomplete.
(Choice C) It supports a claim about an isolated system of atoms in a laboratory, but that claim should not be extrapolated to a general claim about the universe.
C
It supports a claim about an isolated system of atoms in a laboratory, but that claim should not be extrapolated to a general claim about the universe.
(Choice D) It would suggest an interesting direction for future research were it not the case that two of the physicists who conducted the experiment disagree on the significance of its findings.
D
It would suggest an interesting direction for future research were it not the case that two of the physicists who conducted the experiment disagree on the significance of its findings.
1 answer