Heat and Chemical Potential

[foodchain]

Could structured potential control chemical thermodynamics? I think for instance that if you have a medium which has two elements in it, one is hotter then the other the system will move to equilibrium. So could you control the flow of this, in regards to it playing out in chemical potential, reaction and bonding? I am just wondering on the potential to do chemistry from molding a system in which reaction is diving primarily by nothing more then movement towards equilibrium really.

 

I imagine that bonding behavior by electrons would have a close affinity in this for cause and effect or the system moving towards equilibrium correct? Yet I imagine I would have to do these experiments with reaction mechanisms for instance. So I would assume such would apply to biogeochemistry, such as finding more behavior from life from a molecular point of view in a variable environment in regards to thermodynamics.

 

To assume the origin of life held a physical mechanism or was a physical process I would think that a thermodynamic environment had to play a more crucial role, as a frozen or dead core to the earth would have produced a drastically different environment, in that no work would have been done really, not like how the earth is with tectonic plate movement for instance.

 

So in regards to origin of life, could I or really would I have to take into account thermodynamics in regards to the earth as a system or a biogeochemical perspective to model such to any extent? I know that endeavors into such tries not only to understand the earth as it was in the past but to use what theory thinks was the atmosphere for instance during such a time. Going from the hypothesis that life could have originated around or with volcanic sea vents communities and thermophilic bacteria for instance I would think such holds promise, yet in regards to nanotechnology and materials science thermodynamic “noise” may be a domination factor it appears when engineering on such a level, so how could you model such, but a cell for instance or a virus is hardly a single atom.

 

I think this question becomes so much more difficult if you also take into account that you might have to include QM, and surely with the chemical behavior you would. Being chemistry though is dependent on understanding of thermodynamics in many ways such as with enthalpy I would think that the chemistry that gives structure to life as we know it such as with DNA has to exist for understanding as it would pertain to how life originated.

 

So if we assume that the sea vent hypothesis is even close to legit, would that mean I could work with chemistry that can take place in a certain band of variables, the primary one being thermodynamics?