Electronic Resource
New York, NY
:
Wiley-Blackwell
International Journal of Quantum Chemistry
26 (1984), S. 55-61
ISSN:
0020-7608
Keywords:
Computational Chemistry and Molecular Modeling
;
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
The questions considered are (1) How can “order” and entropy S(t) of a biological organism increase together during the growth process, in view of the common notion that entropy is a measure of disorder? The question is answered by an attempt to decouple entropy and disorder. The generalized point of view leads to the above “common notion” only if the number of possible states of the system n(t) is independent of time. However, in any given case one needs to know how S and n depend on time. (2) There are overwhelmingly more states of the matter of a living object which correspond to the absence of life than there are for the presence of life. This leads to the idea that spontaneous generation and replication of organisms are statistically unlikely. This is explained by presenting in a unified manner quantum mechanical considerations which go back twenty years or so. They resolve the “paradox” of the existence of life. They also show precisely what one needs to know about the statistical assumptions which one can reasonably make concerning the (uncertain) conditions which give rise to organisms and to replication.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qua.560260707
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