熵和生命

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Research concerning the relationship between the thermodynamic quantity entropy and the evolution of life began around the turn of the 20th century. In 1910, American historian Henry Adams printed and distributed to university libraries and history professors the small volume A Letter to American Teachers of History proposing a theory of history based on the second law of thermodynamics and on the principle of entropy.

Google Books, Scanned PDF. Washington.</ref>

[ https://Books.Google.com/Books?id=galdoozuikac&pg=pa1&dq=a+letter+to+american+teachers+of+history#ppa10,m1谷歌图书] ，[ https://archive.org/details/alettertoamerica00adamuoft 扫描 PDF ]。华盛顿 / 裁判

The 1944 book What is Life? by Nobel-laureate physicist Erwin Schrödinger stimulated further research in the field. In his book, Schrödinger originally stated that life feeds on negative entropy, or negentropy as it is sometimes called, but in a later edition corrected himself in response to complaints and stated that the true source is free energy. More recent work has restricted the discussion to Gibbs free energy because biological processes on Earth normally occur at a constant temperature and pressure, such as in the atmosphere or at the bottom of the ocean, but not across both over short periods of time for individual organisms.

The 1944 book What is Life? by Nobel-laureate physicist Erwin Schrödinger stimulated further research in the field. In his book, Schrödinger originally stated that life feeds on negative entropy, or negentropy as it is sometimes called, but in a later edition corrected himself in response to complaints and stated that the true source is free energy. More recent work has restricted the discussion to Gibbs free energy because biological processes on Earth normally occur at a constant temperature and pressure, such as in the atmosphere or at the bottom of the ocean, but not across both over short periods of time for individual organisms.

1944年出版的《什么是生命？诺贝尔物理学奖获得者埃尔温·薛定谔 · 马丁的研究激发了这一领域的进一步研究。在他的书中，薛定谔最初指出，生命的源泉是负熵，或有时被称为负熵，但在后来的版本中纠正了自己的抱怨，声称真正的源泉是自由能。最近的工作已经将讨论限制在吉布斯自由能，因为地球上的生物过程通常是在恒定的温度和压力下发生的，比如在大气层或者海底，但是对于单个生物体来说，不会在短时间内跨越这两个温度和压力。

Ideas about the relationship between entropy and living organisms have inspired hypotheses and speculations in many contexts, including psychology, information theory, the origin of life, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Ideas about the relationship between entropy and living organisms have inspired hypotheses and speculations in many contexts, including psychology, information theory, the origin of life, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

关于熵和生命有机体之间关系的观点在许多情况下激发了假设和推测，包括心理学、信息论、生命起源和外星生命的可能性。

Early views

In 1863, Rudolf Clausius published his noted memoir On the Concentration of Rays of Heat and Light, and on the Limits of Its Action, wherein he outlined a preliminary relationship, based on his own work and that of William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), between living processes and his newly developed concept of entropy. Building on this, one of the first to speculate on a possible thermodynamic perspective of organic evolution was the Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. In 1875, building on the works of Clausius and Kelvin, Boltzmann reasoned:

In 1863, Rudolf Clausius published his noted memoir On the Concentration of Rays of Heat and Light, and on the Limits of Its Action, wherein he outlined a preliminary relationship, based on his own work and that of William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), between living processes and his newly developed concept of entropy. Building on this, one of the first to speculate on a possible thermodynamic perspective of organic evolution was the Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. In 1875, building on the works of Clausius and Kelvin, Boltzmann reasoned:

1863年，鲁道夫 · 克劳修斯出版了他著名的回忆录《论光与热的浓度及其作用的极限》 ，在其中，他根据自己的工作和威廉 · 汤姆森(开尔文勋爵)的工作，概述了生命过程和他新发展的熵概念之间的初步关系。在此基础上，第一个推测有机进化可能的热力学视角的人是奥地利物理学家路德维希·玻尔兹曼。1875年，在克劳修斯和凯尔文的著作的基础上，玻尔兹曼推断:

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! ——有人知道这幅图是用来说明什么吗? ——

! -- [从热力学系统的角度看太阳系]-->

In 1876, American civil engineer Richard Sears McCulloh, in his Treatise on the Mechanical Theory of Heat and its Application to the Steam-Engine, which was an early thermodynamics textbook, states, after speaking about the laws of the physical world, that "there are none that are established on a firmer basis than the two general propositions of Joule and Carnot; which constitute the fundamental laws of our subject." McCulloh then goes on to show that these two laws may be combined in a single expression as follows:

In 1876, American civil engineer Richard Sears McCulloh, in his Treatise on the Mechanical Theory of Heat and its Application to the Steam-Engine, which was an early thermodynamics textbook, states, after speaking about the laws of the physical world, that "there are none that are established on a firmer basis than the two general propositions of Joule and Carnot; which constitute the fundamental laws of our subject." McCulloh then goes on to show that these two laws may be combined in a single expression as follows:

1876年，美国土木工程师理查德 · 西尔斯 · 麦卡洛在他的早期热力学教科书《论热机械理论及其在蒸汽机上的应用》中指出，在谈到物理世界的定律之后，“没有比焦耳和卡诺这两个基本命题更坚实的基础了，它们构成了我们这门学科的基本定律。”然后，McCulloh 继续说明，这两个定律可以组合成一个表达式，如下所示:

[math]\displaystyle{ S = \int { dQ \over \tau } }[/math]

[math]\displaystyle{ S = \int { dQ \over \tau } }[/math]

数学 s int { dQ over tau } / math

where

where

在哪里

[math]\displaystyle{ S = }[/math] entropy

[math]\displaystyle{ S = }[/math] entropy

数学信息熵

[math]\displaystyle{ dQ = }[/math] a differential amount of heat passed into a thermodynamic system

[math]\displaystyle{ dQ = }[/math] a differential amount of heat passed into a thermodynamic system

数学 dQ / 数学传入热力学系统的热量的微分量

[math]\displaystyle{ \tau = }[/math] absolute temperature

[math]\displaystyle{ \tau = }[/math] absolute temperature

Math tau / math 绝对温度

McCulloh then declares that the applications of these two laws, i.e. what are currently known as the first law of thermodynamics and the second law of thermodynamics, are innumerable:

McCulloh then declares that the applications of these two laws, i.e. what are currently known as the first law of thermodynamics and the second law of thermodynamics, are innumerable:

然后，McCulloh 声明这两个法则的应用，即。目前所知的能量守恒定律和热力学第二定律数不胜数:

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McCulloh gives a few of what he calls the “more interesting examples” of the application of these laws in extent and utility. His first example is physiology, wherein he states that “the body of an animal, not less than a steamer, or a locomotive, is truly a heat engine, and the consumption of food in the one is precisely analogous to the burning of fuel in the other; in both, the chemical process is the same: that called combustion.” He then incorporates a discussion of Antoine Lavoisier’s theory of respiration with cycles of digestion, excretion, and perspiration, but then contradicts Lavoisier with recent findings, such as internal heat generated by friction, according to the new theory of heat, which, according to McCulloh, states that the “heat of the body generally and uniformly is diffused instead of being concentrated in the chest”. McCulloh then gives an example of the second law, where he states that friction, especially in the smaller blood vessels, must develop heat. Undoubtedly, some fraction of the heat generated by animals is produced in this way. He then asks: “but whence the expenditure of energy causing that friction, and which must be itself accounted for?"

McCulloh gives a few of what he calls the “more interesting examples” of the application of these laws in extent and utility. His first example is physiology, wherein he states that “the body of an animal, not less than a steamer, or a locomotive, is truly a heat engine, and the consumption of food in the one is precisely analogous to the burning of fuel in the other; in both, the chemical process is the same: that called combustion.” He then incorporates a discussion of Antoine Lavoisier’s theory of respiration with cycles of digestion, excretion, and perspiration, but then contradicts Lavoisier with recent findings, such as internal heat generated by friction, according to the new theory of heat, which, according to McCulloh, states that the “heat of the body generally and uniformly is diffused instead of being concentrated in the chest”. McCulloh then gives an example of the second law, where he states that friction, especially in the smaller blood vessels, must develop heat. Undoubtedly, some fraction of the heat generated by animals is produced in this way. He then asks: “but whence the expenditure of energy causing that friction, and which must be itself accounted for?"

麦卡洛给出了一些他称之为“更有趣的例子” ，说明这些法律在范围和效用方面的应用。他举的第一个例子是生理学，其中他指出，“动物的身体，不亚于蒸汽机或火车头，确实是一个热引擎，其中一个的食物消耗与另一个的燃料燃烧完全类似; 两者的化学过程是相同的: 那就是所谓的燃烧。” 然后他把安托万-洛朗·德·拉瓦锡的呼吸理论与消化、排泄和排汗的循环结合起来进行讨论，但是最近的发现与拉瓦锡的理论相矛盾，例如根据新的热理论，摩擦产生的内部热量，根据 McCulloh 的说法，该理论认为“身体的热量通常而且均匀地扩散，而不是集中在胸部”。然后 McCulloh 举了一个第二定律的例子，他说摩擦力，尤其是小血管的摩擦力，一定会产生热量。毫无疑问，动物产生的部分热量就是这样产生的。他接着问: “但是能量的消耗是从哪里引起的摩擦，而且这种摩擦本身必须解释清楚? ”

To answer this question he turns to the mechanical theory of heat and goes on to loosely outline how the heart is what he calls a “force-pump”, which receives blood and sends it to every part of the body, as discovered by William Harvey, and which “acts like the piston of an engine and is dependent upon and consequently due to the cycle of nutrition and excretion which sustains physical or organic life.” It is likely that McCulloh modeled parts of this argument on that of the famous Carnot cycle. In conclusion, he summarizes his first and second law argument as such:

To answer this question he turns to the mechanical theory of heat and goes on to loosely outline how the heart is what he calls a “force-pump”, which receives blood and sends it to every part of the body, as discovered by William Harvey, and which “acts like the piston of an engine and is dependent upon and consequently due to the cycle of nutrition and excretion which sustains physical or organic life.” It is likely that McCulloh modeled parts of this argument on that of the famous Carnot cycle. In conclusion, he summarizes his first and second law argument as such:

为了回答这个问题，他转向热的机械理论，继而大致概述了心脏是如何成为他所说的“力泵”的，它接收血液，并将血液输送到身体的每一个部位，正如威廉 · 哈维所发现的那样，它“起着引擎活塞的作用，依赖于并因此归因于维持物理或有机生命的营养和排泄的循环。” 麦卡洛很可能模仿了著名的卡诺循环的部分理论。最后，他总结了他的第一和第二定律:

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Negative entropy

In the 1944 book What is Life?, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, who in 1933 had won the Nobel Prize in Physics, theorized that life – contrary to the general tendency dictated by the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy of an isolated system tends to increase – decreases or keeps constant its entropy by feeding on negative entropy. The problem of organization in living systems increasing despite the second law is known as the Schrödinger paradox. In his note to Chapter 6 of What is Life?, however, Schrödinger remarks on his usage of the term negative entropy:

In the 1944 book What is Life?, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, who in 1933 had won the Nobel Prize in Physics, theorized that life – contrary to the general tendency dictated by the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy of an isolated system tends to increase – decreases or keeps constant its entropy by feeding on negative entropy. The problem of organization in living systems increasing despite the second law is known as the Schrödinger paradox. In his note to Chapter 6 of What is Life?, however, Schrödinger remarks on his usage of the term negative entropy:

在1944年出版的《什么是生命？ 1933年获得诺贝尔物理学奖的奥地利物理学家埃尔温·薛定谔 · 马丁提出了一个理论，他认为生命——与热力学第二定律指示的一般趋势相反，即孤立系统的熵倾向于增加——通过吸收负熵而减少或保持其熵不变。尽管存在第二定律，生命系统中的组织问题仍在增加，这被称为薛定谔悖论。在他给《什么是生命？ 然而，薛定谔谈到了他对负熵这个术语的使用:

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This, Schrödinger argues, is what differentiates life from other forms of the organization of matter. In this direction, although life's dynamics may be argued to go against the tendency of the second law, life does not in any way conflict with or invalidate this law, because the principle that entropy can only increase or remain constant applies only to a closed system which is adiabatically isolated, meaning no heat can enter or leave, and the physical and chemical processes which make life possible do not occur in adiabatic isolation, i.e. living systems are open systems. Whenever a system can exchange either heat or matter with its environment, an entropy decrease of that system is entirely compatible with the second law.

This, Schrödinger argues, is what differentiates life from other forms of the organization of matter. In this direction, although life's dynamics may be argued to go against the tendency of the second law, life does not in any way conflict with or invalidate this law, because the principle that entropy can only increase or remain constant applies only to a closed system which is adiabatically isolated, meaning no heat can enter or leave, and the physical and chemical processes which make life possible do not occur in adiabatic isolation, i.e. living systems are open systems. Whenever a system can exchange either heat or matter with its environment, an entropy decrease of that system is entirely compatible with the second law.

薛定谔认为，这就是生命区别于物质组织的其他形式的原因。在这个方向上，尽管生命的动力学可能被认为与第二定律的趋势相悖，但生命并不以任何方式与这个定律冲突或使之无效，因为熵只能增加或保持不变的原理只适用于绝热孤立的封闭系统，这意味着没有热量可以进入或离开，使生命成为可能的物理和化学过程不会在绝热孤立中发生，即绝热孤立。生命系统是开放系统。每当一个系统可以与其环境交换热量或物质时，该系统的熵减完全符合第二定律。

Schrödinger asked the question: "How does the living organism avoid decay?" The obvious answer is: "By eating, drinking, breathing and (in the case of plants) assimilating." While energy from nutrients is necessary to sustain an organism's order, Schrödinger also presciently postulated the existence of other molecules equally necessary for creating the order observed in living organisms: "An organism's astonishing gift of concentrating a stream of order on itself and thus escaping the decay into atomic chaos – of drinking orderliness from a suitable environment – seems to be connected with the presence of the aperiodic solids..." We now know that this "aperiodic" crystal is DNA, and that its irregular arrangement is a form of information. "The DNA in the cell nucleus contains the master copy of the software, in duplicate. This software seems to control by specifying an algorithm, or set of instructions, for creating and maintaining the entire organism containing the cell."

Schrödinger asked the question: "How does the living organism avoid decay?" The obvious answer is: "By eating, drinking, breathing and (in the case of plants) assimilating." While energy from nutrients is necessary to sustain an organism's order, Schrödinger also presciently postulated the existence of other molecules equally necessary for creating the order observed in living organisms: "An organism's astonishing gift of concentrating a stream of order on itself and thus escaping the decay into atomic chaos – of drinking orderliness from a suitable environment – seems to be connected with the presence of the aperiodic solids..." We now know that this "aperiodic" crystal is DNA, and that its irregular arrangement is a form of information. "The DNA in the cell nucleus contains the master copy of the software, in duplicate. This software seems to control by specifying an algorithm, or set of instructions, for creating and maintaining the entire organism containing the cell."

薛定谔提出了这样一个问题: “活的有机体如何避免衰变? ”显而易见的答案是: “通过吃、喝、呼吸和(对植物来说)吸收。”虽然来自营养物质的能量是维持生物体秩序所必需的，薛定谔还预见性地假定了其他分子的存在，这些分子同样也是生物体中观察到的秩序所必需的: “生物体惊人的天赋是将秩序流集中在自己身上，从而避免从合适的环境中衰变成原子的混乱——饮酒的秩序——似乎与非周期性固体的存在有关... ... ”我们现在知道这种“非周期性”晶体是 DNA，它的不规则排列是信息的一种形式。“细胞核中的 DNA 包含软件的主拷贝，一式两份。这个软件似乎通过指定一个算法或一组指令来控制，以创造和维护包含细胞的整个有机体。”

DNA and other macromolecules determine an organism's life cycle: birth, growth, maturity, decline, and death. Nutrition is necessary but not sufficient to account for growth in size, as genetics is the governing factor. At some point, virtually all organisms normally decline and die even while remaining in environments that contain sufficient nutrients to sustain life. The controlling factor must be internal and not nutrients or sunlight acting as causal exogenous variables. Organisms inherit the ability to create unique and complex biological structures; it is unlikely for those capabilities to be reinvented or to be taught to each generation. Therefore, DNA must be operative as the prime cause in this characteristic as well. Applying Boltzmann's perspective of the second law, the change of state from a more probable, less ordered, and higher entropy arrangement to one of less probability, more order, and lower entropy (as is seen in biological ordering) calls for a function like that known of DNA. DNA's apparent information-processing function provides a resolution of the Schrödinger paradox posed by life and the entropy requirement of the second law.

DNA and other macromolecules determine an organism's life cycle: birth, growth, maturity, decline, and death. Nutrition is necessary but not sufficient to account for growth in size, as genetics is the governing factor. At some point, virtually all organisms normally decline and die even while remaining in environments that contain sufficient nutrients to sustain life. The controlling factor must be internal and not nutrients or sunlight acting as causal exogenous variables. Organisms inherit the ability to create unique and complex biological structures; it is unlikely for those capabilities to be reinvented or to be taught to each generation. Therefore, DNA must be operative as the prime cause in this characteristic as well. Applying Boltzmann's perspective of the second law, the change of state from a more probable, less ordered, and higher entropy arrangement to one of less probability, more order, and lower entropy (as is seen in biological ordering) calls for a function like that known of DNA. DNA's apparent information-processing function provides a resolution of the Schrödinger paradox posed by life and the entropy requirement of the second law.

Dna 和其他大分子决定生物体的生命周期: 出生、成长、成熟、衰退和死亡。营养是必要的，但不足以解释体型的增长，因为遗传是主导因素。在某种程度上，几乎所有的生物通常都会衰退或死亡，即使它们仍然生活在含有足够维持生命的营养物质的环境中。控制因素必须是内在的，而不是营养或阳光作为因果外生变量。有机体继承了创造独特而复杂的生物结构的能力; 这些能力不太可能被重新发明，也不太可能被传授给每一代。因此，DNA 也必须作为这一特性的主要原因而发挥作用。应用玻尔兹曼第二定律的观点，状态从更可能、更无序和更高熵的排列转变为更少概率、更有序和更低熵的排列(正如在生物排序中看到的那样) ，需要一个像 DNA 那样的函数。Dna 的表观信息处理功能解决了生命提出的薛定谔悖论和第二定律的熵要求。

Gibbs free energy and biological evolution

In recent years, the thermodynamic interpretation of evolution in relation to entropy has begun to utilize the concept of the Gibbs free energy, rather than entropy. This is because biological processes on Earth take place at roughly constant temperature and pressure, a situation in which the Gibbs free energy is an especially useful way to express the second law of thermodynamics. The Gibbs free energy is given by:

In recent years, the thermodynamic interpretation of evolution in relation to entropy has begun to utilize the concept of the Gibbs free energy, rather than entropy. This is because biological processes on Earth take place at roughly constant temperature and pressure, a situation in which the Gibbs free energy is an especially useful way to express the second law of thermodynamics. The Gibbs free energy is given by:

近年来，关于熵的进化的热力学解释已经开始利用吉布斯自由能的概念，而不是熵。这是因为地球上的生物过程是在大致恒定的温度和压力下发生的，在这种情况下，吉布斯自由能是一种特别有用的方式来表达热力学第二定律。吉布斯自由能由以下人士提供:

[math]\displaystyle{ \Delta G \equiv \Delta H-T \, \Delta S }[/math]

[math]\displaystyle{ \Delta G \equiv \Delta H-T \, \Delta S }[/math]

数学 Delta g 等价 Delta H-T Delta s / math

where

where

在哪里

[math]\displaystyle{ G = }[/math] Gibbs free energy

[math]\displaystyle{ G = }[/math] Gibbs free energy

数学 g / 吉布斯自由能

[math]\displaystyle{ H = }[/math] enthalpy passed into a thermodynamic system

[math]\displaystyle{ H = }[/math] enthalpy passed into a thermodynamic system

数学 h / 数学焓传入热力学系统

[math]\displaystyle{ T = }[/math] absolute temperature

[math]\displaystyle{ T = }[/math] absolute temperature

数学绝对温度

[math]\displaystyle{ S = }[/math] entropy

[math]\displaystyle{ S = }[/math] entropy

数学信息熵

The minimization of the Gibbs free energy is a form of the principle of minimum energy, which follows from the entropy maximization principle for closed systems. Moreover, the Gibbs free energy equation, in modified form, can be utilized for open systems when chemical potential terms are included in the energy balance equation. In a popular 1982 textbook, Principles of Biochemistry, noted American biochemist Albert Lehninger argued that the order produced within cells as they grow and divide is more than compensated for by the disorder they create in their surroundings in the course of growth and division. In short, according to Lehninger, "Living organisms preserve their internal order by taking from their surroundings free energy, in the form of nutrients or sunlight, and returning to their surroundings an equal amount of energy as heat and entropy."

The minimization of the Gibbs free energy is a form of the principle of minimum energy, which follows from the entropy maximization principle for closed systems. Moreover, the Gibbs free energy equation, in modified form, can be utilized for open systems when chemical potential terms are included in the energy balance equation. In a popular 1982 textbook, Principles of Biochemistry, noted American biochemist Albert Lehninger argued that the order produced within cells as they grow and divide is more than compensated for by the disorder they create in their surroundings in the course of growth and division. In short, according to Lehninger, "Living organisms preserve their internal order by taking from their surroundings free energy, in the form of nutrients or sunlight, and returning to their surroundings an equal amount of energy as heat and entropy."

吉布斯自由能最小化是最小能量原理的一种形式，它遵循封闭系统的熵最大化原理。此外，当能量平衡方程中包含化学势项时，修正的吉布斯自由能方程可用于开放体系。在1982年流行的教科书《生物化学原理》中，著名的美国生物化学家阿尔伯特 · 莱宁格认为，细胞生长和分裂过程中所产生的秩序已经被它们在生长和分裂过程中在周围环境中所产生的紊乱所弥补。简而言之，根据 Lehninger 的说法，“生物体通过从周围环境中获取营养或阳光等形式的自由能，并以热量和熵等量的能量返回周围环境，从而保持其内部秩序。”

Similarly, according to the chemist John Avery, from his 2003 book Information Theory and Evolution, we find a presentation in which the phenomenon of life, including its origin and evolution, as well as human cultural evolution, has its basis in the background of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and information theory. The (apparent) paradox between the second law of thermodynamics and the high degree of order and complexity produced by living systems, according to Avery, has its resolution "in the information content of the Gibbs free energy that enters the biosphere from outside sources." Assuming evolution drives organisms towards higher information content, it is postulated by Gregory Chaitin that life has properties of high mutual information, and by Tamvakis that life can be quantified using mutual information density metrics, a generalisation of the concept of Biodiversity.

Similarly, according to the chemist John Avery, from his 2003 book Information Theory and Evolution, we find a presentation in which the phenomenon of life, including its origin and evolution, as well as human cultural evolution, has its basis in the background of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and information theory. The (apparent) paradox between the second law of thermodynamics and the high degree of order and complexity produced by living systems, according to Avery, has its resolution "in the information content of the Gibbs free energy that enters the biosphere from outside sources." Assuming evolution drives organisms towards higher information content, it is postulated by Gregory Chaitin that life has properties of high mutual information, and by Tamvakis that life can be quantified using mutual information density metrics, a generalisation of the concept of Biodiversity.

同样，根据化学家 John Avery 在他2003年出版的《信息论和进化论》一书中的说法，我们发现生命现象，包括其起源和进化，以及人类文化进化，都有其热力学、统计力学和信息论的背景。热力学第二定律和生命系统所产生的高度秩序和复杂性之间的矛盾，根据 Avery 的说法，在从外部来源进入生物圈的吉布斯自由能的信息含量中得到了解决假设进化驱使生物体向着更高的信息含量发展，Gregory Chaitin 假设生命具有高度互信息的属性，Tamvakis 假设生命可以使用互信息密度度量来量化，这是生物多样性概念的一个概括。

In a study titled "Natural selection for least action" published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A., Ville Kaila and Arto Annila of the University of Helsinki describe how the process of natural selection responsible for such local increase in order may be mathematically derived directly from the expression of the second law equation for connected non-equilibrium open systems. The second law of thermodynamics can be written as an equation of motion to describe evolution, showing how natural selection and the principle of least action can be connected by expressing natural selection in terms of chemical thermodynamics. In this view, evolution explores possible paths to level differences in energy densities and so increase entropy most rapidly. Thus, an organism serves as an energy transfer mechanism, and beneficial mutations allow successive organisms to transfer more energy within their environment.

In a study titled "Natural selection for least action" published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A., Ville Kaila and Arto Annila of the University of Helsinki describe how the process of natural selection responsible for such local increase in order may be mathematically derived directly from the expression of the second law equation for connected non-equilibrium open systems. The second law of thermodynamics can be written as an equation of motion to describe evolution, showing how natural selection and the principle of least action can be connected by expressing natural selection in terms of chemical thermodynamics. In this view, evolution explores possible paths to level differences in energy densities and so increase entropy most rapidly. Thus, an organism serves as an energy transfer mechanism, and beneficial mutations allow successive organisms to transfer more energy within their environment.

在《皇家学会报告志上发表的一篇题为《最小行动的自然选择》的研究中，赫尔辛基大学的 Ville Kaila 和 Arto Annila 描述了如何从连接的非平衡开放系统的第二定律方程式的表达式直接从数学上推导出导致这种局部增长的自然选择过程。热力学第二定律可以被写成一个描述进化的运动方程，通过用化学热力学来表述自然选择和最小行动原则是如何联系在一起的。在这种观点中，进化探索了能量密度水平差异的可能途径，从而最快速地增加熵。因此，有机体充当能量传递机制，而有益的突变允许后续的有机体在其环境中传递更多的能量。

Entropy and the origin of life

The second law of thermodynamics applied to the origin of life is a far more complicated issue than the further development of life, since there is no "standard model" of how the first biological lifeforms emerged, only a number of competing hypotheses. The problem is discussed within the context of abiogenesis, implying gradual pre-Darwinian chemical evolution. In 1924, Alexander Oparin suggested that sufficient energy for generating early lifeforms from non-living molecules was provided in a "primordial soup". The Belgian scientist Ilya Prigogine was awarded with a Nobel Prize in 1977 for an analysis in this area. A related topic is the probability that life would emerge, which has been discussed in several studies, for example by Russell Doolittle.

The second law of thermodynamics applied to the origin of life is a far more complicated issue than the further development of life, since there is no "standard model" of how the first biological lifeforms emerged, only a number of competing hypotheses. The problem is discussed within the context of abiogenesis, implying gradual pre-Darwinian chemical evolution. In 1924, Alexander Oparin suggested that sufficient energy for generating early lifeforms from non-living molecules was provided in a "primordial soup". The Belgian scientist Ilya Prigogine was awarded with a Nobel Prize in 1977 for an analysis in this area. A related topic is the probability that life would emerge, which has been discussed in several studies, for example by Russell Doolittle.

应用于生命起源的热力学第二定律是一个比生命进一步发展更为复杂的问题，因为对于第一个生物体是如何出现的没有“标准模型” ，只有一些相互竞争的假设。这个问题是在自然发生的背景下讨论的，意味着达尔文之前的化学进化是渐进的。1924年，亚历山大·伊万诺维奇·奥巴林提出，从无生命的分子中产生早期生命形式所需的足够能量来自于“原始汤”。1977年，比利时科学家伊利亚 · 普里戈金因在这一领域的分析而获得诺贝尔奖。一个相关的话题是生命出现的可能性，这已经在一些研究中讨论过了，比如罗素 · 杜立特尔的研究。

Entropy and the search for extraterrestrial life

In 1964, James Lovelock was among a group of scientists requested by NASA to make a theoretical life-detection system to look for life on Mars during the upcoming space mission. When thinking about this problem, Lovelock wondered “how can we be sure that Martian life, if any, will reveal itself to tests based on Earth’s lifestyle?” To Lovelock, the basic question was “What is life, and how should it be recognized?” When speaking about this issue with some of his colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he was asked what he would do to look for life on Mars. To this, Lovelock replied "I’d look for an entropy reduction, since this must be a general characteristic of life."

In 1964, James Lovelock was among a group of scientists requested by NASA to make a theoretical life-detection system to look for life on Mars during the upcoming space mission. When thinking about this problem, Lovelock wondered “how can we be sure that Martian life, if any, will reveal itself to tests based on Earth’s lifestyle?” To Lovelock, the basic question was “What is life, and how should it be recognized?” When speaking about this issue with some of his colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he was asked what he would do to look for life on Mars. To this, Lovelock replied "I’d look for an entropy reduction, since this must be a general characteristic of life."

1964年，詹姆斯 · 洛夫洛克和其他一些科学家应美国国家航空航天局的要求，建立了一个理论上的生命探测系统，以便在即将到来的太空任务中寻找火星上的生命。当思考这个问题时，洛夫洛克想知道“我们怎么能确定火星生命，如果有的话，会在基于地球生活方式的测试中暴露出来呢? ” 对于 Lovelock 来说，最基本的问题是“什么是生命，以及如何识别生命? ” 当他与喷气推进实验室的一些同事讨论这个问题时，有人问他如何在火星上寻找生命。对此，洛夫洛克回答说: “我会寻找熵减法，因为这一定是生命的一般特征。”

In 2013, Azua-Bustos and Vega argued that, disregarding the types of lifeforms that might be envisioned both on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe, all should share in common the attribute of decreasing their internal entropy at the expense of free energy obtained from their surroundings. As entropy allows the quantification of the degree of disorder in a system, any envisioned lifeform must have a higher degree of order than its immediate supporting environment. These authors showed that by using fractal mathematics analysis alone, they could readily quantify the degree of structural complexity difference (and thus entropy) of living processes as distinct entities separate from their similar abiotic surroundings. This approach may allow the future detection of unknown forms of life both in the Solar System and on recently discovered exoplanets based on nothing more than entropy differentials of complementary datasets (morphology, coloration, temperature, pH, isotopic composition, etc.).

In 2013, Azua-Bustos and Vega argued that, disregarding the types of lifeforms that might be envisioned both on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe, all should share in common the attribute of decreasing their internal entropy at the expense of free energy obtained from their surroundings. As entropy allows the quantification of the degree of disorder in a system, any envisioned lifeform must have a higher degree of order than its immediate supporting environment. These authors showed that by using fractal mathematics analysis alone, they could readily quantify the degree of structural complexity difference (and thus entropy) of living processes as distinct entities separate from their similar abiotic surroundings. This approach may allow the future detection of unknown forms of life both in the Solar System and on recently discovered exoplanets based on nothing more than entropy differentials of complementary datasets (morphology, coloration, temperature, pH, isotopic composition, etc.).

2013年，阿苏阿-布斯托斯和维加认为，无论是在地球上还是在宇宙的其他地方，生命形式的类型都可能被设想，所有这些生命形式都应该有一个共同的特征，那就是以牺牲从周围环境中获得的自由能量为代价，来减少它们的内熵。由于熵允许量化一个系统的无序程度，任何想象的生命形式必须比它的直接支持环境有更高的有序度。这些作者表明，单独使用分形数学分析，他们可以很容易地定量的程度结构复杂性差异(因此熵)的生活过程作为不同的实体从他们相似的非生物环境分离。这种方法可能允许未来探测太阳系和最近发现的系外行星中的未知生命形式，仅仅基于互补数据集(形态、着色、温度、 pH 值、同位素组成等)的熵差。).

Entropy in psychology

The notion of entropy as disorder has been transferred from thermodynamics to psychology by Polish psychiatrist Antoni Kępiński, who admitted being inspired by Erwin Schrödinger. In his theoretical framework devised to explain mental disorders (the information metabolism theory), the difference between living organisms and other systems was explained as the ability to maintain order. Contrary to inanimate matter, organisms maintain the particular order of their bodily structures and inner worlds which they impose onto their surroundings and forward to new generations. The life of an organism or the species ceases as soon as it loses that ability. Maintenance of that order requires continual exchange of information between the organism and its surroundings. In higher organisms, information is acquired mainly through sensory receptors and metabolised in the nervous system. The result is action – some form of motion, for example locomotion, speech, internal motion of organs, secretion of hormones, etc. The reactions of one organism become an informational signal to other organisms. Information metabolism, which allows living systems to maintain the order, is possible only if a hierarchy of value exists, as the signals coming to the organism must be structured. In humans that hierarchy has three levels, i.e. biological, emotional, and sociocultural. Kępiński explained how various mental disorders are caused by distortions of that hierarchy, and that the return to mental health is possible through its restoration.

The notion of entropy as disorder has been transferred from thermodynamics to psychology by Polish psychiatrist Antoni Kępiński, who admitted being inspired by Erwin Schrödinger. In his theoretical framework devised to explain mental disorders (the information metabolism theory), the difference between living organisms and other systems was explained as the ability to maintain order. Contrary to inanimate matter, organisms maintain the particular order of their bodily structures and inner worlds which they impose onto their surroundings and forward to new generations. The life of an organism or the species ceases as soon as it loses that ability. Maintenance of that order requires continual exchange of information between the organism and its surroundings. In higher organisms, information is acquired mainly through sensory receptors and metabolised in the nervous system. The result is action – some form of motion, for example locomotion, speech, internal motion of organs, secretion of hormones, etc. The reactions of one organism become an informational signal to other organisms. Information metabolism, which allows living systems to maintain the order, is possible only if a hierarchy of value exists, as the signals coming to the organism must be structured. In humans that hierarchy has three levels, i.e. biological, emotional, and sociocultural. Kępiński explained how various mental disorders are caused by distortions of that hierarchy, and that the return to mental health is possible through its restoration.

熵作为无序的概念已经由波兰精神病学家 Antoni k pi ski 从热力学转移到心理学，他承认受到了埃尔温·薛定谔的启发。在他为解释精神障碍而设计的理论框架(信息代谢理论)中，生物体和其他系统的区别被解释为维持秩序的能力。与无生命物质相反，有机体维持着它们的身体结构和内部世界的特定秩序，这些秩序和秩序是它们强加给周围环境并传递给下一代的。有机体或物种一旦丧失这种能力，其生命就立即停止。维持这种秩序需要生物体与其周围环境之间不断地交换信息。在高等生物体中，信息主要通过感觉受体获得，并在神经系统中进行代谢。其结果是行动——某种形式的运动，例如运动、说话、器官的内部运动、激素的分泌等。一个有机体的反应成为其他有机体的信号。信息新陈代谢允许生命系统维持秩序，只有在价值存在层次结构的情况下才有可能，因为到达生物体的信号必须是有结构的。在人类中，等级制度有三个层次，即。生物，情感和社会文化。解释了各种各样的精神障碍是如何被扭曲的等级制度所引起的，并且通过恢复精神健康是可能的。

The idea was continued by Struzik, who proposed that Kępiński's information metabolism theory may be seen as an extension of Léon Brillouin's negentropy principle of information. In 2011, the notion of "psychological entropy" was reintroduced to psychologists by Hirsh et al. Similarly to Kępiński, these authors noted that uncertainty management is a critical ability for any organism. Uncertainty, arising due to the conflict between competing perceptual and behavioral affordances, is experienced subjectively as anxiety. Hirsh and his collaborators proposed that both the perceptual and behavioral domains may be conceptualized as probability distributions and that the amount of uncertainty associated with a given perceptual or behavioral experience can be quantified in terms of Claude Shannon’s entropy formula.

The idea was continued by Struzik, who proposed that Kępiński's information metabolism theory may be seen as an extension of Léon Brillouin's negentropy principle of information. In 2011, the notion of "psychological entropy" was reintroduced to psychologists by Hirsh et al. Similarly to Kępiński, these authors noted that uncertainty management is a critical ability for any organism. Uncertainty, arising due to the conflict between competing perceptual and behavioral affordances, is experienced subjectively as anxiety. Hirsh and his collaborators proposed that both the perceptual and behavioral domains may be conceptualized as probability distributions and that the amount of uncertainty associated with a given perceptual or behavioral experience can be quantified in terms of Claude Shannon’s entropy formula.

这个想法得到了 strutzik 的继续，他提出，k pi ski 的信息代谢理论可以看作是 l 在布里渊的信息负熵原理上的延伸。2011年，Hirsh 等人重新向心理学家提出了“心理熵”的概念。与 kpiski 类似，这些作者指出，不确定性管理对任何生物体来说都是一种至关重要的能力。不确定性是由于知觉和行为的负担之间的冲突而产生的，主观上被称为焦虑。赫什和他的合作者提出，知觉和行为域可以概念化为概率分布，与给定的知觉或行为经验相关的不确定性的数量可以用克劳德香农的熵公式来量化。

Objections

Entropy is well defined for equilibrium systems, so objections to the extension of the second law and of entropy to biological systems, especially as it pertains to its use to support or discredit the theory of evolution, have been stated. Living systems and indeed many other systems and processes in the universe operate far from equilibrium, whereas the second law succinctly states that isolated systems evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium — the state of maximum entropy.

Entropy is well defined for equilibrium systems, so objections to the extension of the second law and of entropy to biological systems, especially as it pertains to its use to support or discredit the theory of evolution, have been stated. Living systems and indeed many other systems and processes in the universe operate far from equilibrium, whereas the second law succinctly states that isolated systems evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium — the state of maximum entropy.

对于平衡系统来说，熵是一个很好的定义，因此反对将第二定律和熵扩展到生物系统，特别是当它涉及到用来支持或否定进化理论的时候。生命系统以及宇宙中的许多其他系统和过程在远离平衡状态下运行，而第二定律简洁地指出，孤立的系统朝着热力学平衡---- 最大熵状态---- 演化。

However, entropy is well defined much more broadly based on the probabilities of a system's states, whether or not the system is a dynamic one (for which equilibrium could be relevant). Even in those physical systems where equilibrium could be relevant, (1) living systems cannot persist in isolation, and (2) the second principle of thermodynamics does not require that free energy be transformed into entropy along the shortest path: living organisms absorb energy from sunlight or from energy-rich chemical compounds and finally return part of such energy to the environment as entropy (generally in the form of heat and low free-energy compounds such as water and carbon dioxide).

However, entropy is well defined much more broadly based on the probabilities of a system's states, whether or not the system is a dynamic one (for which equilibrium could be relevant). Even in those physical systems where equilibrium could be relevant, (1) living systems cannot persist in isolation, and (2) the second principle of thermodynamics does not require that free energy be transformed into entropy along the shortest path: living organisms absorb energy from sunlight or from energy-rich chemical compounds and finally return part of such energy to the environment as entropy (generally in the form of heat and low free-energy compounds such as water and carbon dioxide).

然而，熵的定义更广泛地基于系统状态的概率，不管系统是否是一个动态的系统(平衡可能是相关的)。即使在那些可能与平衡相关的物理系统中，(1)生命系统也不能孤立地存在，(2)热力学第二原理并不要求沿着最短的路径将自由能转化为熵: 生命有机体从阳光或高能化合物中吸收能量，最终将这种能量的一部分以熵的形式返回到环境中(通常是以热和水和二氧化碳等低自由能化合物的形式)。

See also

• Abiogenesis

• Adaptive system

• Complex systems

• Dissipative system

• Ecological entropy – a measure of biodiversity in the study of biological ecology

• Ectropy – a measure of the tendency of a dynamical system to do useful work and grow more organized

• Entropy (order and disorder)

• Extropy – a metaphorical term defining the extent of a living or organizational system's intelligence, functional order, vitality, energy, life, experience, and capacity and drive for improvement and growth

• Negentropy – a shorthand colloquial phrase for negative entropy

Further reading

• Schneider, E. and Sagan, D. (2005). Into the Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  • Kapusta, A (2007). "Life circle, time and the self in Antoni Kępiński's conception of information metabolism". FILOSOFIJA. SOCIOLOGIJA. 18 (1): 46–51.
  • La Cerra, P. (2003). The First Law of Psychology is the Second Law of Thermodynamics: The Energetic Evolutionary Model of the Mind and the Generation of Human Psychological Phenomena, Human Nature Review 3: 440–447.
  • Moroz, A. (2011). The Common Extremalities in Biology and Physics. Elsevier Insights, NY.

    
    

    External links

    • Thermodynamic Evolution of the Universe pi.physik.uni-bonn.de/~cristinz

    Category:Thermodynamic entropy

    类别: 熵

    Category:Biological evolution

    类别: 生物进化

    Category:Biophysics

    类别: 生物物理学

    
    

    This page was moved from wikipedia:en:Entropy and life. Its edit history can be viewed at 熵和生命/edithistory