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The Gravo-Thermal Catastrophe


In 1962, V. A. Antonov did some remarkable simulations showing that even in Newtonian mechanics, gravitating systems can violate the usual rules of thermodynamics. Instead of reaching equilibrium t…

In 1962, V. A. Antonov did some remarkable simulations showing that even in Newtonian mechanics, gravitating systems can violate the usual rules of thermodynamics. It’s the arbitrarily large negative potential energy of this system that makes it break the usual rules of thermodynamics. The best part is Section 2, where they vividly tell the tale of how you struggle to deal with a sphere full of stars as its temperature and pressure starts rising uncontrollably!

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