The Zeroth Law of Physics
Building Existence from First Principles
Why Does Anything Exist?
The answer may be simpler than expected: existence requires no explanation because the universe contains zero net information.
In this book, Clemens Lode presents a unified framework that derives the fundamental features of reality from pure topology. Starting from the insight that an everything-universe and a nothing-universe both require zero bits to specify, the book builds toward a radical conclusion: particles are knots in a single cosmic rope, gravity emerges from shadowing effects, and the very dimensionality of spacetime arises from the mathematical necessity of stable observers.
Questions This Book Addresses
Why Three Dimensions?
Discover why stable observers require exactly three spatial dimensions, because knots can only exist in three dimensions.
Matter vs. Antimatter
Learn why matter dominates over antimatter in our observable universe.
Three Particle Generations
Understand why there are precisely three generations of particles: a consequence of topology.
The Nature of Forces
See how the three gauge forces emerge from the three Reidemeister moves, the only ways a knot can change.
Gravity's Origin
Explore how gravity emerges from the shadow effect: knots obstructing higher-dimensional strings.
Consciousness
Examine why consciousness feels so mysteriously irreducible within this framework.
The Journey Through the Book
Part I: Foundations
- The Absence of Distance
- The Information Curve
- Why We See Something
- The First Knot
Part II: Building Reality
- The Spinning Time
- The Particle Zoo
- Matter and Antimatter
Part III: Forces and Phenomena
- The Three Forces
- Gravity from Shadows
- Time Dilation and Black Holes
- Quantum Mechanics Explained
Part IV: Implications
- Consciousness and Emergence
- Predictions and Experiments
- Open Questions
Who Should Read This Book
- Curious readers who want to think about fundamental questions
- Science enthusiasts interested in cosmology and quantum mechanics
- Philosophy lovers exploring the nature of existence
- Anyone willing to question assumptions they may not have known they held
No physics degree required. Concepts are explained from first principles.
A Note on Speculation
"While I provide a complete theory addressing all major unsolved questions of physics and base my theories on proven observations and tested mathematics, I want to be clear that this book is an act of speculation. What you will read is not established physics. It is a framework, a way of seeing, that attempts to derive the fundamental features of reality from a single premise: that the universe contains zero information because it encompasses all possibilities."
— Clemens Lode
Building on Established Work
The central insight connecting the three Reidemeister moves to the three gauge groups was rigorously developed by physicist Christoph Schiller in his strand model. This book builds on Schiller's mathematical foundation while integrating it into a broader framework that includes the zero-information principle, the torsion of time, and the shadow mechanism for gravity.
Coming 2026
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