Neil Zimmerman

Columbia University, Astronomy PhD Candidate

The Arrow of Time

Our perception of the flow of time is so fundamental to our experience that it defies simple verbal description. And yet, essential laws of physics appear to describe a Universe that is symmetric in time--that is, equally plausible when played backwards and forwards. How does modern physics confront the time asymmetry observed in many classes of phenomena? What are the consequences of this approach, from the functioning of the brain to the fate of the Universe?