Area and Entropy: A New Perspective
Abstract
Description
We consider a spacelike two-plane originally at rest with respect to electromagnetic radiation in equilibrium. We find that if the plane is moved with respect to the radiation, the plane shrinks such that the maximum amount of entropy carried by radiation through the plane is, in natural units, exactly one-half of the decrease in the area of the plane. This result suggests that the equivalence between area and entropy may not be limited in black holes, nor even in the spacetime horizons only, but the equivalence between horizon area and entropy may be a special case of some general and simple, still undiscovered fundamental principle of nature.
4 pages. This paper received an honorary mention in the annual Awards for Essays in Gravitation contest
4 pages. This paper received an honorary mention in the annual Awards for Essays in Gravitation contest