The Science and Philosophy of the "Thermodynamic School" of Evolution
This paper was written by Nancy L. Harris, Charles A. S. Hall, and Ariel E. Lugo and published in 2013. The abstract states: “The maximum power principle predicts that maximum transformation of available energy into useful work occurs when a system operates at an intermediate rate and efficiency. This relation is apparent in everyday situations…
This paper was written by T. T. Cai, C. L. Montague, and J. S. Davis and published in 2006. The abstract of the paper states: “The maximum power principle is a potential guide to understanding the patterns and processes of ecosystem development and sustainability. The principle predicts the selective persistence of ecosystem designs that capture a…
Read More “The maximum power principle: An empirical investigation” »
This paper was written by Walter B. Langbein and Luna B. Leopold and published in 1962. It was a geological survey paper written for the United States Department of the Interior. H.T. Odum wrote that Leopold and Langbein describe how the steepness and meander of streams develop in ways that help “maximize the power of…
This paper was written by Motoyosi Sugita and published in 1951. Odum writes that Sugita “uses examples such as stream capture in land drainage” to suggest that “systems tend to maximize power in their organizational work” (Odum, 1983, p. 118). Sugita was one of the top theoretical physicists in Japan before, during, and after World…
Read More “Maximum principle in transient phenomena and its application to biophysics” »
This paper was written by L. M. Martyushev and V. D. Seleznev and published in 2006. The abstract states: “The tendency of the entropy to a maximum as an isolated system is relaxed to the equilibrium (the second law of thermodynamics) has been known since the mid-19th century. However, independent theoretical and applied studies, which…
Read More “Maximum entropy production principle in physics, chemistry and biology” »