Download or read book Thermodynamic Dissipation Theory of the Origin and Evolution of Life written by Karo Michaelian and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-12-29 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did life on Earth arise? This question has captured the imagination of curious minds ever since the dawn of humanity. Countless myths have been told, but a plausible scientific explanation has resisted 160 years of vigorous research since Darwin. Now, for the first time in this book, physicist Karo Michaelian reviews a bold new theory founded on non-equilibrium thermodynamic principles. As with all irreversible processes, life could only arise, proliferate, and evolve by dissipating an external generalized chemical potential. Michaelian identifies this external potential as the ultraviolet (UV-C) photon potential arriving at Earth's surface during the Archean and the fundamental molecules of life as "self-organized" microscopic dissipative structures, i.e. pigments in the UV-C. The theory is drawing a lot of attention because of its ability to explain many of the salient characteristics of the fundamental molecules of life and because it provides a reason for the evolution of a complex biosphere. Large amounts of empirical data from epochs all the way back to the beginning of life and from some of Michaelian's own experiments all support the new theory. The implications are serious for many contemporary paradigms concerning life and evolution. Even the cherished Darwinian paradigm, with its implicit metaphysical "will to survive," selection only at the level of the organism, and the inescapable tautology in "survival of the survivors" (irrespective of Popper's recanting) must be reformulated on thermodynamic principles, and the way to accomplish this is presented in the book. Michaelian concludes that life similar, and not so similar, to our own should exist everywhere in the Universe wherever there exists the organic elements, UV-C light, and a dissipative solvent medium. In fact, he suggests that we have already discovered extraterrestrial life on other planets of our own solar system, and even within the galactic interstellar clouds of gas and dust, but have yet to recognize it as such under the old paradigms. A program for best searching for this extraterrestrial life at the different stages of its dissipation development is detailed within the book. Karo Michaelian has Ph.D. in physics from the University of Alberta, Canada and has worked at various research institutes throughout the world in topics ranging from nuclear physics and nanoparticles to complex systems and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. His book makes fascinating reading in understandable language for the serious amateur but also contains much detail, including mathematical derivation of thermodynamic principles, for the professional who wants an in-depth understanding. The book contains 422 pages with 140 images and diagrams and 414 references. A detailed historical sketch of origin and evolution of life research is presented and critically analyzed, including; Ideas from Antiquity, Darwinian Theory, the Miller Experiments, the RNA World, Panspermia, and Gaia Theory. The thermodynamic foundations of the new theory are developed in the first 6 chapters and the corroborating evidence presented in the next 12. Another 2 chapters discuss contemporary paradigms in need of reform, and the last discusses dissipative life in other parts of the Universe. Mathematical demonstrations are left to boxes that can be skipped without much loss of continuity of argument. Analogies help to make the theory understandable to those who may not have formal training in mathematics or who lack an understanding of non-equilibrium thermodynamics.
Download or read book Thermodynamic Dissipation Theory of the Origin and Evolution of Life written by Karo Michaelian and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-12-30 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did life on Earth arise? This question has captured the imagination of curious minds ever since the dawn of humanity. Countless myths have been told, but a plausible scientific explanation has resisted 160 years of vigorous research since Darwin. Now, for the first time in this book, physicist Karo Michaelian reviews a bold new theory founded on non-equilibrium thermodynamic principles. As with all irreversible processes, life could only arise, proliferate, and evolve by dissipating an external generalized chemical potential. Michaelian identifies this external potential as the ultraviolet (UV-C) photon potential arriving at Earth's surface during the Archean and the fundamental molecules of life as "self-organized" microscopic dissipative structures, i.e. pigments in the UV-C. The theory is drawing a lot of attention because of its ability to explain many of the salient characteristics of the fundamental molecules of life and because it provides a reason for the evolution of a complex biosphere. Large amounts of empirical data from epochs all the way back to the beginning of life and from some of Michaelian's own experiments all support the new theory. The implications are serious for many contemporary paradigms concerning life and evolution. Even the cherished Darwinian paradigm, with its implicit metaphysical "will to survive," selection only at the level of the organism, and the inescapable tautology in "survival of the survivors" (irrespective of Popper's recanting) must be reformulated on thermodynamic principles, and the way to accomplish this is presented in the book. Michaelian concludes that life similar, and not so similar, to our own should exist everywhere in the Universe wherever there exists the organic elements, UV-C light, and a dissipative solvent medium. In fact, he suggests that we have already discovered extraterrestrial life on other planets of our own solar system, and even within the galactic interstellar clouds of gas and dust, but have yet to recognize it as such under the old paradigms. A program for best searching for this extraterrestrial life at the different stages of its dissipation development is detailed within the book. Karo Michaelian has Ph.D. in physics from the University of Alberta, Canada and has worked at various research institutes throughout the world in topics ranging from nuclear physics and nanoparticles to complex systems and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. His book makes fascinating reading in understandable language for the serious amateur but also contains much detail, including mathematical derivation of thermodynamic principles, for the professional who wants an in-depth understanding. The book contains 422 pages with 140 images and diagrams and 414 references. A detailed historical sketch of origin and evolution of life research is presented and critically analyzed, including; Ideas from Antiquity, Darwinian Theory, the Miller Experiments, the RNA World, Panspermia, and Gaia Theory. The thermodynamic foundations of the new theory are developed in the first 6 chapters and the corroborating evidence presented in the next 12. Another 2 chapters discuss contemporary paradigms in need of reform, and the last discusses dissipative life in other parts of the Universe. Mathematical demonstrations are left to boxes that can be skipped without much loss of continuity of argument. Analogies help to make the theory understandable to those who may not have formal training in mathematics or who lack an understanding of non-equilibrium thermodynamics.
Download or read book Every Life Is on Fire written by Jeremy England and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A preeminent physicist unveils a field-defining theory of the origins and purpose of life. Why are we alive? Most things in the universe aren't. And everything that is alive traces back to things that, puzzlingly, weren't. For centuries, the scientific question of life's origins has confounded us. But in Every Life Is on Fire, physicist Jeremy England argues that the answer has been under our noses the whole time, deep within the laws of thermodynamics. England explains how, counterintuitively, the very same forces that tend to tear things apart assembled the first living systems. But how life began isn't just a scientific question. We ask it because we want to know what it really means to be alive. So England, an ordained rabbi, uses his theory to examine how, if at all, science helps us find purpose in a vast and mysterious universe. In the tradition of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Every Life Is on Fire is a profound testament to how something can come from nothing.
Download or read book Into the Cool written by Eric D. Schneider and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2005-06 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors look to the laws of thermodynamics for answers to the questions of evolution, ecology, economics, and even life's origin.
Download or read book Beginnings of Cellular Life written by Harold J. Morowitz and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Develops a model of the origin of life in which cells originate first, proteins follow, and genes evolve last, which is supported by evidence mustered from biology, biochemistry, and biophysics. This work explores the origins of life and is for anyone who has ever thought seriously about the origin of life.
Download or read book The Near Surface Layer of the Ocean written by Alexander Soloviev and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-02-21 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Until the 1980s, a tacit agreement among many physical oceanographers was that nothing deserving attention could be found in the upper few meters of the ocean. The lack of adequete knowledge about the near-surface layer of the ocean was mainly due to the fact that the widely used oceanographic instruments (such as bathythermographs, CTDs, current meters, etc.) were practically useless in the upper few meters of the ocean. Interest in the ne- surface layer of the ocean rapidly increased along with the development of remote sensing techniques. The interpretation of ocean surface signals sensed from satellites demanded thorough knowledge of upper ocean processes and their connection to the ocean interior. Despite its accessibility to the investigator, the near-surface layer of the ocean is not a simple subject of experimental study. Random, sometimes huge, vertical motions of the ocean surface due to surface waves are a serious complication for collecting quality data close to the ocean surface. The supposedly minor problem of avoiding disturbances from ships’ wakes has frustrated several generations of oceanographers attempting to take reliable data from the upper few meters of the ocean. Important practical applications nevertheless demanded action, and as a result several pioneering works in the 1970s and 1980s laid the foundation for the new subject of oceanography – the near-surface layer of the ocean.
Download or read book Information Theory And Evolution Third Edition written by John Scales Avery and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2021-11-24 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This highly interdisciplinary book discusses the phenomenon of life, including its origin and evolution, against the background of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and information theory. Among the central themes is the seeming contradiction between the second law of thermodynamics and the high degree of order and complexity produced by living systems. As the author shows, this paradox has its resolution in the information content of the Gibbs free energy that enters the biosphere from outside sources. Another focus of the book is the role of information in human cultural evolution, which is also discussed with the origin of human linguistic abilities. One of the final chapters addresses the merging of information technology and biotechnology into a new discipline — bioinformation technology.This third edition has been updated to reflect the latest scientific and technological advances. Professor Avery makes use of the perspectives of famous scholars such as Professor Noam Chomsky and Nobel Laureates John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edward Moser to cast light on the evolution of human languages. The mechanism of cell differentiation, and the rapid acceleration of information technology in the 21st century are also discussed.With various research disciplines becoming increasingly interrelated today, Information Theory and Evolution provides nuance to the conversation between bioinformatics, information technology, and pertinent social-political issues. This book is a welcome voice in working on the future challenges that humanity will face as a result of scientific and technological progress.
Download or read book The Origin and Evolution of Life written by Henry Fairfield Osborn and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2023-07-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1918, this book presents Osborn's theory of the origin and evolution of life based on the principles of thermodynamics. Osborn argues that life is a manifestation of the interactions between energy and matter, and that the evolution of life is a result of the increasing complexity of these interactions. A groundbreaking work of science and philosophy, The Origin and Evolution of Life remains relevant to scientists and thinkers today. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Download or read book The Origin and Nature of Life on Earth written by Eric Smith and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-03-31 with total page 703 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uniting the foundations of physics and biology, this groundbreaking multidisciplinary and integrative book explores life as a planetary process.
Download or read book The Second Law of Economics written by Reiner Kümmel and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-06-24 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nothing happens in the world without energy conversion and entropy production. These fundamental natural laws are familiar to most of us when applied to the evolution of stars, biological processes, or the working of an internal combustion engine, but what about industrial economies and wealth production, or their constant companion, pollution? Does economics conform to the First and the Second Law of Thermodynamics? In this important book, Reiner Kümmel takes us on a fascinating tour of these laws and their influence on natural, technological, and social evolution. Analyzing economic growth in Germany, Japan, and the United States in light of technological constraints on capital, labor, and energy, Professor Kümmel upends conventional economic wisdom by showing that the productive power of energy far outweighs its small share of costs, while for labor just the opposite is true. Wealth creation by energy conversion is accompanied and limited by polluting emissions that are coupled to entropy production. These facts constitute the Second Law of Economics. They take on unprecedented importance in a world that is facing peak oil, debt-driven economic turmoil, and threats from pollution and climate change. They complement the First Law of Economics: Wealth is allocated on markets, and the legal framework determines the outcome. By applying the First and Second Law we understand the true origins of wealth production, the issues that imperil the goal of sustainable development, and the technological options that are compatible both with this goal and with natural laws. The critical role of energy and entropy in the productive sectors of the economy must be realized if we are to create a road map that avoids a Dark Age of shrinking natural resources, environmental degradation, and increasing social tensions.
Download or read book A History of Thermodynamics written by Ingo Müller and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-07-16 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers an easy to read, all-embracing history of thermodynamics. It describes the long development of thermodynamics, from the misunderstood and misinterpreted to the conceptually simple and extremely useful theory that we know today. Coverage identifies not only the famous physicists who developed the field, but also engineers and scientists from other disciplines who helped in the development and spread of thermodynamics as well.
Download or read book Multiscale Thermo Dynamics written by Michal Pavelka and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2018-08-06 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One common feature of new emerging technologies is the fusion of the very small (nano) scale and the large scale engineering. The classical environment provided by single scale theories, as for instance by the classical hydrodynamics, is not anymore satisfactory. The main challenge is to keep the important details while still be able to keep the overall picture and simplicity. It is the thermodynamics that addresses this challenge. Our main reason for writing this book is to explain such general viewpoint of thermodynamics and to illustrate it on a very wide range of examples. Contents Levels of description Hamiltonian mechanics Irreversible evolution Reversible and irreversible evolution Multicomponent systems Contact geometry Appendix: Mathematical aspects
Download or read book The Physics of Life written by Adrian Bejan and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2016-05-24 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Physics of Life explores the roots of the big question by examining the deepest urges and properties of living things, both animate and inanimate: how to live longer, with food, warmth, power, movement and free access to other people and surroundings. Bejan explores controversial and relevant issues such as sustainability, water and food supply, fuel, and economy, to critique the state in which the world understands positions of power and freedom. Breaking down concepts such as desire and power, sports health and culture, the state of economy, water and energy, politics and distribution, Bejan uses the language of physics to explain how each system works in order to clarify the meaning of evolution in its broadest scientific sense, moving the reader towards a better understanding of the world's systems and the natural evolution of cultural and political development. The Physics of Life argues that the evolution phenomenon is much broader and older than the evolutionary designs that constitute the biosphere, empowering readers with a new view of the globe and the future, revealing that the urge to have better ideas has the same physical effect as the urge to have better laws and better government. This is evolution explained loudly but also elegantly, forging a path that flows sustainability.
Download or read book The Janus Point written by Julian Barbour and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2020-12-01 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a universe filled by chaos and disorder, one physicist makes the radical argument that the growth of order drives the passage of time -- and shapes the destiny of the universe. Time is among the universe's greatest mysteries. Why, when most laws of physics allow for it to flow forward and backward, does it only go forward? Physicists have long appealed to the second law of thermodynamics, held to predict the increase of disorder in the universe, to explain this. In The Janus Point, physicist Julian Barbour argues that the second law has been misapplied and that the growth of order determines how we experience time. In his view, the big bang becomes the "Janus point," a moment of minimal order from which time could flow, and order increase, in two directions. The Janus Point has remarkable implications: while most physicists predict that the universe will become mired in disorder, Barbour sees the possibility that order -- the stuff of life -- can grow without bound. A major new work of physics, The Janus Point will transform our understanding of the nature of existence.
Download or read book Evolution Thermodynamics and Information written by Jeffrey S. Wicken and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1987 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking work approaches evolution as an expression of physical laws and thermodynamic theory. It explores the relationship between the molecular processes of evolution and the physical laws that govern biological organization, seeking to explain how the ability to change developed in the earliest organisms and how it is perpetuated today. Dr. Wicken explains how genetic information is organized, how it evolves, and how the chemical and physical properties of the genetic molecules control the type and extent of change possible. With broad implications for scientific methodology, the work outlines a research program that fuses thermodynamic and Darwinian concepts, and integrates literature on the origin of life with evolutionary theory within the context of developmental biology and ecology. Biologists, geneticists, chemists, physicists, and philosophers of science interested in evolution will find this book to be stimulating reading.
Download or read book Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life written by Horst Rauchfuss and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-10-15 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did life begin on the early Earth? We know that life today is driven by the universal laws of chemistry and physics. By applying these laws over the past ?fty years, en- mous progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms that are the foundations of the living state. For instance, just a decade ago, the ?rst human genome was published, all three billion base pairs. Using X-ray diffraction data from crystals, we can see how an enzyme molecule or a photosynthetic reaction center steps through its catalytic function. We can even visualize a ribosome, central to all life, translate - netic information into a protein. And we are just beginning to understand how molecular interactions regulate thousands of simultaneous reactions that continuously occur even in the simplest forms of life. New words have appeared that give a sense of this wealth of knowledge: The genome, the proteome, the metabolome, the interactome. But we can’t be too smug. We must avoid the mistake of the physicist who, as the twentieth century began, stated con?dently that we knew all there was to know about physics, that science just needed to clean up a few dusty corners. Then came relativity, quantum theory, the Big Bang, and now dark matter, dark energy and string theory. Similarly in the life sciences, the more we learn, the better we understand how little we really know. There remains a vast landscape to explore, with great questions remaining.
Download or read book What is Life the Physical Aspect of the Living Cell Mind and Matter written by Erwin Schrödinger and published by . This book was released on 1967 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
