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Dissipative Structuring in Life
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Dissipative Structuring in Life

A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Entropy and Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 21716

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Karo Michaelian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instítuto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 01000, Mexico
Interests: origin of life; homochirality; ecosystems; non-equilibrium thermodynamics; dissipative structuring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A dissipative system can be described as a collection of material exposed to an impressed flow (referred to as a generalized thermodynamic force) from its external environment of some conserved quantity of nature (mass, energy, momentum, angular momentum, charge, etc.) which, as a consequence of interactions occurring within the material of the system, outputs to the environment a certain flow of the same quantity but distributed over a greater number of microscopic degrees of freedom. This process is known as “dissipation”, and its unfailing occurrence in macroscopic non-equilibrium systems is known as “the second law of thermodynamics”.

For such dissipative systems under constant boundary conditions, particularly for regimes where the internal flows of the conserved quantities become non-linearly related to the impressed external flow (force), Ilya Prigogine showed that the system may come to a stationary state in which the conserved quantities take on stationary values in time while the system itself can manifest symmetry breaking in both space and time (i.e., structures and dynamical processes may arise within the system, which can be persistent) and he termed these structures “dissipative structures”. Boltzmann had already anticipated this result in 1871 when he suggested in somewhat different terms that life was a dissipative process dependent on absorbing sunlight from the environment and converting these visible photons into many more infrared photons (heat). Schrodinger popularized this original idea of Boltzmann in his book entitled “What is Life?” published in 1944. It has now come to be generally accepted that all life can be described as the dissipative structuring of material operating in non-equilibrium thermodynamic stationary states and that these structures are assigned by nature the thermodynamic function of dissipating one or more of the impressed potentials from the environment. For non-linear (e.g., autocatalytic) systems, many stationary states may exist, and the system may evolve from one such state to another depending on fluctuations and the local stability of the state.

This Special Issue takes a close look at the details of this fascinating process of dissipative structuring in life. Since its beginnings at the origin of life in the Archean, to the molecular machines operating within the cell, to the existence today of the global dissipative system known as the biosphere, all aspects of the dissipative structuring in life are valid topics for this Special Issue. The emphasis is on explaining particular life structures or processes from the perspective of dissipative structuring by identifying the impressed external potentials (forces), the internal flows, and the particular couplings of internal flows, which give rise to the dissipative structuring of the material. The relation of entropy production to this structuring, and to the evolution of the system over different structurings (stationary states), are also topics to be considered.

Dr. Karo Michaelian
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Dissipative Structuring
  • Photon-Induced Self-Organization
  • Life
  • Origin of Life
  • Molecular Motors
  • Biosphere
  • Cell Division
  • Cellular Processes
  • Ecosystems
  • Biosphere
  • Evolution
  • Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics
  • Entropy Production

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 1570 KiB  
Article
The Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics of Natural Selection: From Molecules to the Biosphere
by Karo Michaelian
Entropy 2023, 25(7), 1059; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25071059 - 13 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2939
Abstract
Evolutionary theory suggests that the origin, persistence, and evolution of biology is driven by the “natural selection” of characteristics improving the differential reproductive success of the organism in the given environment. The theory, however, lacks physical foundation, and, therefore, at best, can only [...] Read more.
Evolutionary theory suggests that the origin, persistence, and evolution of biology is driven by the “natural selection” of characteristics improving the differential reproductive success of the organism in the given environment. The theory, however, lacks physical foundation, and, therefore, at best, can only be considered a heuristic narrative, of some utility for assimilating the biological and paleontological data at the level of the organism. On deeper analysis, it becomes apparent that this narrative is plagued with problems and paradoxes. Alternatively, non-equilibrium thermodynamic theory, derived from physical law, provides a physical foundation for describing material interaction with its environment at all scales. Here we describe a “natural thermodynamic selection” of characteristics of structures (or processes), based stochastically on increases in the global rate of dissipation of the prevailing solar spectrum. Different mechanisms of thermodynamic selection are delineated for the different biotic-abiotic levels, from the molecular level at the origin of life, up to the level of the present biosphere with non-linear coupling of biotic and abiotic processes. At the levels of the organism and the biosphere, the non-equilibrium thermodynamic description of evolution resembles, respectively, the Darwinian and Gaia descriptions, although the underlying mechanisms and the objective function of selection are fundamentally very different. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dissipative Structuring in Life)
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24 pages, 5443 KiB  
Article
Dissipation + Utilization = Self-Organization
by Harrison Crecraft
Entropy 2023, 25(2), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25020229 - 26 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3410
Abstract
This article applies the thermocontextual interpretation (TCI) to open dissipative systems. TCI is a generalization of the conceptual frameworks underlying mechanics and thermodynamics. It defines exergy with respect to the positive-temperature surroundings as a property of state, and it defines the dissipation and [...] Read more.
This article applies the thermocontextual interpretation (TCI) to open dissipative systems. TCI is a generalization of the conceptual frameworks underlying mechanics and thermodynamics. It defines exergy with respect to the positive-temperature surroundings as a property of state, and it defines the dissipation and utilization of exergy as functional properties of process. The Second Law of thermodynamics states that an isolated system maximizes its entropy (by dissipating and minimizing its exergy). TCI’s Postulate Four generalizes the Second Law for non-isolated systems. A non-isolated system minimizes its exergy, but it can do so either by dissipating exergy or utilizing it. A non-isolated dissipator can utilize exergy either by performing external work on the surroundings or by carrying out the internal work of sustaining other dissipators within a dissipative network. TCI defines a dissipative system’s efficiency by the ratio of exergy utilization to exergy input. TCI’s Postulate Five (MaxEff), introduced here, states that a system maximizes its efficiency to the extent allowed by the system’s kinetics and thermocontextual boundary constraints. Two paths of increasing efficiency lead to higher rates of growth and to higher functional complexity for dissipative networks. These are key features for the origin and evolution of life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dissipative Structuring in Life)
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26 pages, 1306 KiB  
Article
Dissipative Photochemical Abiogenesis of the Purines
by Claudeth Hernández and Karo Michaelian
Entropy 2022, 24(8), 1027; https://doi.org/10.3390/e24081027 - 26 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3394
Abstract
We have proposed that the abiogenesis of life around the beginning of the Archean may have been an example of “spontaneous” microscopic dissipative structuring of UV-C pigments under the prevailing surface ultraviolet solar spectrum. The thermodynamic function of these Archean pigments (the “fundamental [...] Read more.
We have proposed that the abiogenesis of life around the beginning of the Archean may have been an example of “spontaneous” microscopic dissipative structuring of UV-C pigments under the prevailing surface ultraviolet solar spectrum. The thermodynamic function of these Archean pigments (the “fundamental molecules of life”), as for the visible pigments of today, was to dissipate the incident solar light into heat. We have previously described the non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the photochemical mechanisms which may have been involved in the dissipative structuring of the purines adenine and hypoxanthine from the common precursor molecules of hydrogen cyanide and water under this UV light. In this article, we extend our analysis to include the production of the other two important purines, guanine and xanthine. The photochemical reactions are presumed to occur within a fatty acid vesicle floating on a hot (∼80 °C) neutral pH ocean surface exposed to the prevailing UV-C light. Reaction–diffusion equations are resolved under different environmental conditions. Significant amounts of adenine (∼10−5 M) and guanine (∼10−6 M) are obtained within 60 Archean days, starting from realistic concentrations of the precursors hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen (∼10−5 M). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dissipative Structuring in Life)
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23 pages, 760 KiB  
Article
A Photon Force and Flow for Dissipative Structuring: Application to Pigments, Plants and Ecosystems
by Karo Michaelian and Ramón Eduardo Cano Mateo
Entropy 2022, 24(1), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/e24010076 - 1 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2648
Abstract
Through a modern derivation of Planck’s formula for the entropy of an arbitrary beam of photons, we derive a general expression for entropy production due to the irreversible process of the absorption of an arbitrary incident photon spectrum in material and its dissipation [...] Read more.
Through a modern derivation of Planck’s formula for the entropy of an arbitrary beam of photons, we derive a general expression for entropy production due to the irreversible process of the absorption of an arbitrary incident photon spectrum in material and its dissipation into an infrared-shifted grey-body emitted spectrum, with the rest being reflected or transmitted. Employing the framework of Classical Irreversible Thermodynamic theory, we define the generalized thermodynamic flow as the flow of photons from the incident beam into the material and the generalized thermodynamic force is, then, the entropy production divided by the photon flow, which is the entropy production per unit photon at a given wavelength. We compare the entropy production of different inorganic and organic materials (water, desert, leaves and forests) under sunlight and show that organic materials are the greater entropy-producing materials. Intriguingly, plant and phytoplankton pigments (including chlorophyll) reach peak absorption exactly where entropy production through photon dissipation is maximal for our solar spectrum 430<λ<550 nm, while photosynthetic efficiency is maximal between 600 and 700 nm. These results suggest that the evolution of pigments, plants and ecosystems has been towards optimizing entropy production, rather than photosynthesis. We propose using the wavelength dependence of global entropy production as a biosignature for discovering life on planets of other stars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dissipative Structuring in Life)
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10 pages, 759 KiB  
Article
Statistical Physics of Evolving Systems
by Arto Annila
Entropy 2021, 23(12), 1590; https://doi.org/10.3390/e23121590 - 27 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2216
Abstract
Evolution is customarily perceived as a biological process. However, when formulated in terms of physics, evolution is understood to entail everything. Based on the axiom of everything comprising quanta of actions (e.g., quanta of light), statistical physics describes any system evolving toward thermodynamic [...] Read more.
Evolution is customarily perceived as a biological process. However, when formulated in terms of physics, evolution is understood to entail everything. Based on the axiom of everything comprising quanta of actions (e.g., quanta of light), statistical physics describes any system evolving toward thermodynamic balance with its surroundings systems. Fluxes of quanta naturally select those processes leveling out differences in energy as soon as possible. This least-time maxim results in ubiquitous patterns (i.e., power laws, approximating sigmoidal cumulative curves of skewed distributions, oscillations, and even the regularity of chaos). While the equation of evolution can be written exactly, it cannot be solved exactly. Variables are inseparable since motions consume driving forces that affect motions (and so on). Thus, evolution is inherently a non-deterministic process. Yet, the future is not all arbitrary but teleological, the final cause being the least-time free energy consumption itself. Eventually, trajectories are computable when the system has evolved into a state of balance where free energy is used up altogether. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dissipative Structuring in Life)
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47 pages, 1844 KiB  
Article
The Dissipative Photochemical Origin of Life: UVC Abiogenesis of Adenine
by Karo Michaelian
Entropy 2021, 23(2), 217; https://doi.org/10.3390/e23020217 - 10 Feb 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5501
Abstract
The non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the photochemical reaction mechanisms are described which may have been involved in the dissipative structuring, proliferation and complexation of the fundamental molecules of life from simpler and more common precursors under the UVC photon flux prevalent at the Earth’s [...] Read more.
The non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the photochemical reaction mechanisms are described which may have been involved in the dissipative structuring, proliferation and complexation of the fundamental molecules of life from simpler and more common precursors under the UVC photon flux prevalent at the Earth’s surface at the origin of life. Dissipative structuring of the fundamental molecules is evidenced by their strong and broad wavelength absorption bands in the UVC and rapid radiationless deexcitation. Proliferation arises from the auto- and cross-catalytic nature of the intermediate products. Inherent non-linearity gives rise to numerous stationary states permitting the system to evolve, on amplification of a fluctuation, towards concentration profiles providing generally greater photon dissipation through a thermodynamic selection of dissipative efficacy. An example is given of photochemical dissipative abiogenesis of adenine from the precursor HCN in water solvent within a fatty acid vesicle floating on a hot ocean surface and driven far from equilibrium by the incident UVC light. The kinetic equations for the photochemical reactions with diffusion are resolved under different environmental conditions and the results analyzed within the framework of non-linear Classical Irreversible Thermodynamic theory. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dissipative Structuring in Life)
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