Extropy in the universe

[Realitycheck]

While entropy gradually disorganizes matter in the universe, the phoenix effect gradually organizes it, causing atoms to become heavier through each successive generation. Is it possible that there could be some force that causes this with a grand design?

 

On another note, It seems that life is all about organization, until we reach Maltheusian economics, but China's one-child rule addresses that. So here we have two constants that dominate the universe, the propensity for matter to organize itself into heavier and heavier elements and the propensity for these elements to organise itself into more and more complicated chemicals and more and more complicated forms of life. Isn't it reasonable that there could be some weak driving behind this constant?

[Radical Edward]

entropy isn't a force that does stuff, it is a numerical quantity that is measured as an outcome to various interactions - the higher the entropy, the less energy there is available to do useful work.

 

In the early universe, the entropy was very low - the universe consisted mostly of hydrogen, helium (very low binding energies) and mostly high frequency radiation (we'll put dark matter aside for now). As gravity pulled things together into stars and galaxies, fusion began to occur, which released energy and made higher mass atoms (up to iron) - increasing the entropy of the universe.

[bascule]

"Extropy" is a hard thing to nail down. I think it's safe to say that the information content generated by life systems is increasing exponentially.

[pioneer]

Life moves in the direction of lower entropy and higher energy. This is the first and second laws of life. Life is also acted upon by the first and second laws of the universe which try to move life toward higher entropy and lower energy.

 

Let me give an example. We will start with a small strawberry plant. As it grows, it will gain caloric value over time. We can prove this by placing specimens in a calorimeter as a function of time. As it grows, it will also absorb water and CO2, which initially have the degrees of freedom to circulate in the atmosphere. The plants will lower this entropy by fixing these into the material of the plant.

 

The first and second law of the universe are still in effect. Nature will try to lower the energy and increase the entropy of the strawberries. This is done with a rabbit. They will eat and chew the strawberry, increasing the strawberry entropy. They will also metabolize it, lowering the strawberry energy value. In the process of satisfying the 1st and 2nd laws of universe, the rabbit will also absorb materials for own growth, implicit of atomic fixation, lowering entropy and increasing stored energy.

 

The 1st and 2nd laws are still in effect, so the rabbits needs to increase entropy and lower energy. This is done by the hunter, who shoots it and then cuts it up and cooks it, increasing the entropy. Cooking increases entropy by denaturing the protein. This is chewed for further increases in entropy and digested to lower the energy. But in the process, aspects are also absorbed into the hunters body; lowering atomic entropy into fixation and increasing energy via stored caloric value.

 

If you look at the DNA and a mutation, the improper base pairing will increase entropy since it adds new degrees of freedom. But since this is implicit of improper base pairing, the result will increase the energy of the DNA. The DNA and evolution, acts like a bridge between life and the universe satisfying the first law of life and second law of the universe at the same time.

[pioneer]

If you divide a cell, in terms of things that reflect the first and second laws of life, and then the first and second laws of the universe, this creates an interesting way to define the cell.

 

For example, if we compare DNA to RNA, RNA has more degrees of freedom compared to the DNA. The DNA is sort of stuck being a double helix, while RNA can form a double or single helix. It has more freedom. This freedom also allows it to associate with many proteins. The sugars and bases of DNA are also more reduced compared to the RNA. This implies the DNA stores more calories (pound for pound) or is at higher caloric energy.

 

From this I would conclude, when life was just evolving and therefore lower down the scale of the first and second laws of life, due to the 1st and 2nd laws of the universe were dominant, RNA replicators came first since RNA has higher entropy and lower energy. The universe was pushing the other way, with life needing to reach the lower life state first.

 

As the first and second laws of life advanced, DNA was an logical consequence, since it defines lower entropy and higher energy. The methylation of the DNA takes the first and second laws of life one step further, by adding more reduction to the DNA (-CH3), while lowering entropy or degrees of freedom; less active.

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Merged post follows:

Consecutive posts merged

The laws of life; movement to lower entropy and higher energy, is not an isolate occurrence within the universe. There is also precedent for this elsewhere. For example, all atoms larger than iron need to absorb energy to be able to form. The entropy of the starting ingredients lowers as electrons, protons and neutrons lower their degree of freedom by becoming bound to these heavy and sluggish atomic states.

 

But unlike higher atoms than iron, which represent lower entropy and increase energy to become more or less static, life creates a dynamic balance between the two opposing directions.

 

Life creates a situation where it own potentials opposes the 1st and 2nd laws of the universe. This creates two countering potentials, so the 1st and 2nd laws of the universe will need to act. Reaction, such as with metabolism, creates energy output and increasing entropy. This then creates a situation where the 1st and 2nd laws of life now need to act since it creates a potential with the laws of life. Life slightly favors its own laws, even if it is part of the universe, net pulling away from the the laws of the universe.

 

For example, let us start with an egg. The chicken sits on the egg to make it warm, thereby increasing its energy. This helps the laws of life. This will increase the potential with the laws of the universe, which would like to lower energy and increase energy. The cellular integration begins to increase metabolism, to reflect the potential with universe, which lowers internal energy and increasing entropy via CO2 production. This increase the potential with the laws of life, which then will act through synthesis into ordered energy containing molecules.

 

Cells are set up with both the life and universal potentials represented, dueling, back and forth, simultaneously, with the overall pendulum swinging higher and higher, but slightly in the direction of life as the egg grows into a chicken.

Edited March 26, 2010 by pioneer
Consecutive posts merged.

[ponderer]

While entropy gradually disorganizes matter in the universe, the phoenix effect gradually organizes it, causing atoms to become heavier through each successive generation. Is it possible that there could be some force that causes this with a grand design?

 

On another note, It seems that life is all about organization, until we reach Maltheusian economics, but China's one-child rule addresses that. So here we have two constants that dominate the universe, the propensity for matter to organize itself into heavier and heavier elements and the propensity for these elements to organise itself into more and more complicated chemicals and more and more complicated forms of life. Isn't it reasonable that there could be some weak driving behind this constant?

 

Entropy tends to homogenize the energy density in a system, chaotic behaviour tends to form structure and complexity, localizing energy density in the process. Chaos theory, is possibly what you are looking for.