medium · Act reading
In a closed system, the Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the total entropy (disorder) of the system can never decrease over time. However, biological organisms are highly ordered structures. They maintain this order by taking in energy (from food or sunlight) and releasing heat and waste into their surroundings.
How do biological organisms remain consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics?
- Organisms eventually stop producing waste when they reach biological maturity, at which point their internal entropy begins to increase until they die.
- The increase in entropy in the organism's surroundings, caused by the release of heat and waste, outweighs the decrease in entropy within the organism itself.
- The Second Law of Thermodynamics only applies to inanimate objects like rocks and machines, and has no relevance to the study of biology or ecology.
- Biological organisms are exempt from the laws of physics because they possess a 'vital force' that allows them to decrease entropy indefinitely.
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