Entropy Revisited – Thermodynamic Constraints on Black Hole and Cosmological Observability

L. Montejo

Published Aug 27, 2025• 0 citations

Abstract

This preprint examines the thermodynamic limits of information registration and their implications for quantum mechanics, black hole physics, and cosmology. Building on Landauer’s principle, it argues that registration and erasure are physically inseparable operations, each incurring the same energetic toll of kBTln⁡2 per bit. From this perspective, quantum “collapse” is reframed as collapse insolvency, the condition that stable records cannot be formed beyond an energy constrained ceiling. The paper develops a Six Tier Insolvency Model, distinguishing between global constraints (Bekenstein–Hawking entropy, Landauer throughput, empirical ceilings) and local bottlenecks (Hawking flux, flux dilution, observer collapse limit). It derives striking insolvency ratios (~10⁻⁵⁶ globally and ~10⁻⁴⁷ locally), quantifying the gap between the entropy accessible in principle and that which any finite observer can render. The analysis introduces the Goldilocks Rendering Zone (GRZ), a universal band where collapse can occur: too little flux leaves no record, too much flux exceeds solvency. This provides a unified account that links quantum measurement, biological information processing, and black hole horizons under the same energetic constraint. The framework is falsifiable. It predicts a hard ceiling of ~10¹² bits·s⁻¹·m⁻² for sustained registration under standard conditions (300 K, 1 W/m²). A single reproducible counterexample would suffice to overturn the model.

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16955777

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