medium · Enhanced 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 any waste once they reach biological maturity, at which point internal entropy climbs steadily until death.
- 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 applies only to inanimate systems such as rocks and simple machines, and therefore has no bearing on biology or ecology.
- Biological organisms are exempt from ordinary physical laws because they possess an innate 'vital force' that lets them decrease entropy indefinitely without any limit.
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