The Fourth Law of Thermodynamics: The Law of Maximum Entropy Production (LMEP)

摘要

More than 20 years ago, Swenson (1988)26. Swenson, R. 1988. Emergence and the principle of maximum entropy production: Multi-level system theory, evolution, and non-equilibrium thermodynamics.. Proceedings of the 32nd annual meeting of the International Society for General Systems Research , 32: 32View all references proposed and elaborated the Law of Maximum Entropy Production (LMEP) as the missing piece of physical or universal law that would account for the ubiquitous and opportunistic transformation from disordered, or less ordered, to more highly ordered states. Given Boltzmann's (1974)2. Boltzmann, L. 1974. “The second law of thermodynamics”. In Theoretical physics and philosophical problems , Edited by: Bush, S. G. Boston: Reidel. (Original work published 1886)View all references interpretation, the Second Law of Thermodynamics has generally been interpreted as a “law of disorder.” Schrödinger (1945)23. Schrodinger, E. 1945. What is life? , New York: Macmillan. View all references and Bertalanffy (1952) had shown, however, that the Second Law, viewed from the classical perspective of Clausius (1865)6. Clausius, R. 1865. Ueber verschiedene fur die anwendung bequeme formen der haupt gleichungen der mechanischen warmtheorie.. Annalen der Phys. und Chem. , 7: 389-400. View all references and Thomson (1852)41. Thomson, W. 1852. On the universal tendency in nature to the dissipation of mechanical energy. Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science , 4: 304-306. [Taylor & Francis Online]View all references, was not anathema to order. Ordered flow, including life, was permissible as long as it produced enough entropy to compensate for its own internal entropy reduction. The central problem remained, however: If the spontaneous production of order was “infinitely improbable,” as Boltzmann had surmised, then why were ordered systems such a fundamental and characteristic property of the visible world? LMEP provided the answer: Order production is inexorable because order produces entropy faster than disorder. In Swenson (1989d)30. Swenson, R. 1989d. Gauss-in-a-box: Nailing down the first principles of action. Perceiving Acting Workshop Review , 5: 60-63. (Technical Report of the Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action)View all references, LMEP was given expression as a precise law that could be demonstrated in falsifiable, experimental, physical terms. In Swenson and Turvey (1991)31. Swenson, R. 1991a. “End-directed physics and evolutionary ordering: Obviating the problem of the population of one”. In The cybernetics of complex systems: Self-organization, evolution, and social change , Edited by: Geyer, F. 41-60. Salinas, CA: Intersystems Publications. View all references, LMEP was tied explicitly to the progressive emergence of living things with their perception-action capabilities.View full textDownload full textRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10407410903493160