34
HENRY EYRING, RICHARD P. BOYCE AND JOHN D. SPIKES
Maxwell demon. If so, then it would be possible for systems to exist
where such microorganisms could carry out chemical reactions in which
the entropy as a whole, including the materials of the organism themselves, would decrease. Indeed, N. Wiener (4) in his "Cybernetics"
presents the hypothesis that enzymes may well be metastable Maxwell demons. Further consideration of the problem, however, suggests
that this is not likely.
3. Life and the Second Law
Significant differences exist between living and inanimate systems.
The most elaborate inanimate structure, i.e., a perfect crystal, is infinitely inferior to a living cell in terms of its ability to reproduce itself, repair damage sustained by it, etc. Furthermore, through metabolic processes a cell maintains itself in a condition of nonequilibrium
by the utilization of energy supplied from without. In temperature
sensitivity there is also a vast difference. Crystals are most stable at
absolute zero whereas cells are stable only within a very narrow
temperature range. Cells are highly organized structures composed of
many atoms which manifest a greater organization than their constituent atoms. Such orderliness is characterized by low entropy. Thus
living cells appear to be creating "negative" entropy.
Living systems also are characterized by other hard-to-explain properties. Evolution always towards the more complex is puzzling. Perhaps
one of the most intriguing aspects of life is the hereditary mechanism.
We have seen that the Second Law is based on statistical considerations. Roughly, these laws are accurate to within a probable relative
error of 1/^/ή where n is equal to the number of molecules that cooperate to bring about the law. However, in the hereditary mechanism
incredibly small groups of atoms, which lie far beyond statistical treatment, are active agents in determining the cause of extremely orderly
events within living systems. Schrödinger (3) compares the hereditary
"code script," i.e., chromosomes, with the all-penetrating mind conceived
by LaPlace. They are the law code and executive power. After reviewing the experimental evidence characteristic of the hereditary substance, Schrödinger concurs with Delbruck's model, i.e., that the gene
is a macromolecule capable of isomeric changes which may lead to
a vast number of rearrangements. On the basis of such a model, he
concludes: "Living matter, while not eluding the laws of physics as
established up to date is likely to involve other laws of physics hitherto
unknown, which, however, once they have been revealed, will form just
as integral a part of this science as the former."
Thus we come to the ultimate question of this section. What is the
HENRY EYRING, RICHARD P. BOYCE AND JOHN D. SPIKES
Maxwell demon. If so, then it would be possible for systems to exist
where such microorganisms could carry out chemical reactions in which
the entropy as a whole, including the materials of the organism themselves, would decrease. Indeed, N. Wiener (4) in his "Cybernetics"
presents the hypothesis that enzymes may well be metastable Maxwell demons. Further consideration of the problem, however, suggests
that this is not likely.
3. Life and the Second Law
Significant differences exist between living and inanimate systems.
The most elaborate inanimate structure, i.e., a perfect crystal, is infinitely inferior to a living cell in terms of its ability to reproduce itself, repair damage sustained by it, etc. Furthermore, through metabolic processes a cell maintains itself in a condition of nonequilibrium
by the utilization of energy supplied from without. In temperature
sensitivity there is also a vast difference. Crystals are most stable at
absolute zero whereas cells are stable only within a very narrow
temperature range. Cells are highly organized structures composed of
many atoms which manifest a greater organization than their constituent atoms. Such orderliness is characterized by low entropy. Thus
living cells appear to be creating "negative" entropy.
Living systems also are characterized by other hard-to-explain properties. Evolution always towards the more complex is puzzling. Perhaps
one of the most intriguing aspects of life is the hereditary mechanism.
We have seen that the Second Law is based on statistical considerations. Roughly, these laws are accurate to within a probable relative
error of 1/^/ή where n is equal to the number of molecules that cooperate to bring about the law. However, in the hereditary mechanism
incredibly small groups of atoms, which lie far beyond statistical treatment, are active agents in determining the cause of extremely orderly
events within living systems. Schrödinger (3) compares the hereditary
"code script," i.e., chromosomes, with the all-penetrating mind conceived
by LaPlace. They are the law code and executive power. After reviewing the experimental evidence characteristic of the hereditary substance, Schrödinger concurs with Delbruck's model, i.e., that the gene
is a macromolecule capable of isomeric changes which may lead to
a vast number of rearrangements. On the basis of such a model, he
concludes: "Living matter, while not eluding the laws of physics as
established up to date is likely to involve other laws of physics hitherto
unknown, which, however, once they have been revealed, will form just
as integral a part of this science as the former."
Thus we come to the ultimate question of this section. What is the