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I am a layman and this is my first ever question! Although, it is simplistic in nature, I hope that there is a beauty in its simplicity which could give a simple answer.

Alan Watts, the philosopher, stated 'Why is there any Energy at all? When, nothing or nothingness is so much easier'. Why then does the Universe 'go to work' and have energy, why and for what purpose?

BioPhysicist
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Chris H
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Why is there any Energy at all?

The simple answer that is preferred by modern physicists is that there is energy because the laws of physics are the same today as they were yesterday. It is the fact that the laws of physics do not change over time that leads to energy.

Of course, that begs the question "why are the laws of physics the same over time"? That just seems to be how the universe works.

Dale
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    I think this answer conflates Energy conservation with the "existence" of Energy all together. Something does not have to be conserved for it to "exist". – BioPhysicist Nov 16 '21 at 17:11
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    Yes, I conflate them because they are not separate questions. The question isn't asking about the word "energy"; after all I could name my dog "energy" and then claim that "energy exists". The question is asking about the physical concept that we refer to as "energy", which is the quantity that is conserved due to the time invariance of the Lagrangian. If it isn't conserved then it isn't that physical concept we call energy. Energy specifically does have to be conserved in order to exist, that is its defining feature. – Dale Nov 16 '21 at 17:21
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    @Dale To BioPhysicist point, entropy exists but it is not the same to day as it was yesterday (not conserved). – Bob D Nov 16 '21 at 17:38
  • Sure, but entropy is not energy. Energy (unlike entropy) must be conserved to exist. Conservation is part of what defines energy and distinguishes it as something different than entropy. – Dale Nov 16 '21 at 17:45
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Physics does not in general answer the question of why something fundamental exists, nor does it seek to assign a purpose to anything. Rather, it tries to build a model to understand how different fundamental things interact with each other. Energy is one example. It is not a theoretical artifact, but rather a physical substance intrinsic to the Universe. Physicists are concerned more with the mystery of how energy interacts with matter, how it transforms from one kind to the other, etc. -- and not so much why it exists at all.

The latter happens to be a rather pointless line of inquiry, best left to the likes of philosophers to squabble over :)

Yejus
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