Synopsis:
- Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics
- Irreversible processes are ubiquitous in nature
- Life happens far from equilibrium
- "Conservative" systems vs "dissipative" systems (subject to fluxes of energy and/or matter)
- Dissipative systems give rise to irreversible processes
- Order can be created either from equilibrium systems or from non-equilibrium systems that are sustained by a constant source (by a persistent dissipation) of matter/energy
- All living organisms are non-equilibrium systems
- The non-linearity of a system drives the system to ordered configurations, i.e. create order
- Non-equilibrium and non-linearity favor the spontaneous development of self-organizing systems, which maintain their internal organization by trading matter/energy with the environment
- Nonlinear systems driven away from equilibrium can generate instabilities that lead to bifurcations
- When the system reaches the bifurcation point, it is impossible to determine which path it will take next: chance
- Once the path is chosen, determinism resumes
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