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The title and abstract read: Time without end: Physics and biology in an open universe* Freeman J. Dyson Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 Quantitative estimates are derived for three classes of phenomena that may occur in an open cosmological model of Friedman type. (1) Normal physical processes taking place with very long time-scales. (2) Biological processes that will result if life adapts itself to low ambient temperatures according to a postulated scaling law. (3) Communication by radio between life forms existing in different parts of the universe. The general conclusion of the analysis is that an open universe need not evolve into a state of permanent quiescence. Life and communication can continue for ever, utilizing a finite store of energy, if the assumed scaling laws are valid.

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The title and abstract read: Time without end: Physics and biology in an open universe* Freeman J. Dyson Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 Quantitative estimates are derived for three classes of phenomena that may occur in an open cosmological model of Friedman type. (1) Normal physical processes taking place with very long time-scales. (2) Biological processes that will result if life adapts itself to low ambient temperatures according to a postulated scaling law. (3) Communication by radio between life forms existing in different parts of the universe. The general conclusion of the analysis is that an open universe need not evolve into a state of permanent quiescence. Life and communication can continue for ever, utilizing a finite store of energy, if the assumed scaling laws are valid.
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Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 15-Dec-2022 17:57:22 UTC Robert McNees
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"Time without end: Physics and biology in an open universe" was published in Reviews of Modern Physics in 1979.
Dyson notes that cosmology was beginning to achieve respectability, but speculation about the end of the universe still seemed disreputable.
"I hope with these lectures to hasten the arrival of the day when eschatology, the study of the end of the universe, will be a respectable scientific discipline and not merely a branch of theology."
https://journals.aps.org/rmp/abstract/10.1103/RevModPhys.51.447

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