Problems
605
planetary system. 11 Spreading to different planets greatly reduces the probability of
complete loss and waste of the life experiment that Nature is performing on Earth.
Besides our vile lust for domination and our decent level of curiosity, consideration
of the unpredictability in the timing of catastrophes argues for populating the stars
and galaxies.
Problems
15.1 What is the entropy of a crystal at equilibrium near absolute zero if there are
only seven units of energy available for thermal vibration? Take the vibration of the
atoms in only one direction, and with a separation of vibrational energy levels of
one unit.
15.2 If two liquids with the same densities are thoroughly mixed, each liquid
having molecules which have no dipole moments, what would cause those liquids
to spontaneously separate? While separating, will the liquids release or take in
energy from the environment? Does the separated liquids have more or less entropy
than the mixture had? If less, how does the process satisfy the second law of
thermodynamics?
15.3 Make a ‘catastrophe plot’ appropriate to the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome. Devise
a model with the production of adrenalin and other biosystem changes in response
to danger that might explain ‘fight or flight’.
15.4 Argue that biological scaling laws are an example of an ‘emergent’ principle
in the ordering of systems.
15.5 Humans have reached the ‘threshold of capability for mass extinction’. Is this
an inevitable fate of evolving intelligent systems?
15.6 What factors are there to impede a life system from over saturating its
environment, producing a catastrophic collapse.
15.7 Outline what might be involved in a theory of punctuated evolution, i.e. the
cause for sudden spurts in the evolution of life forms. One avenue: Think of life
system evolution as adding structures and configurations that enhance purposeful
activity. Even though there are an astronomically large number of possible organic
structures, up to now, evolution must proceed by exploring only the effects of
small changes (some with large consequences!). The various possible configurations
can be associated with a number giving its viability. They also have a measure of
distance apart by how much the structures differ. Thus, a viability plot (‘surface’)
can be made, looking like a very jagged landscape. A given life form starts at or
11 Extending Newtonian dynamics to predict asteroid orbits to longer and longer times becomes
more and more difficult due to the chaotic behavior of the dynamics.
605
planetary system. 11 Spreading to different planets greatly reduces the probability of
complete loss and waste of the life experiment that Nature is performing on Earth.
Besides our vile lust for domination and our decent level of curiosity, consideration
of the unpredictability in the timing of catastrophes argues for populating the stars
and galaxies.
Problems
15.1 What is the entropy of a crystal at equilibrium near absolute zero if there are
only seven units of energy available for thermal vibration? Take the vibration of the
atoms in only one direction, and with a separation of vibrational energy levels of
one unit.
15.2 If two liquids with the same densities are thoroughly mixed, each liquid
having molecules which have no dipole moments, what would cause those liquids
to spontaneously separate? While separating, will the liquids release or take in
energy from the environment? Does the separated liquids have more or less entropy
than the mixture had? If less, how does the process satisfy the second law of
thermodynamics?
15.3 Make a ‘catastrophe plot’ appropriate to the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome. Devise
a model with the production of adrenalin and other biosystem changes in response
to danger that might explain ‘fight or flight’.
15.4 Argue that biological scaling laws are an example of an ‘emergent’ principle
in the ordering of systems.
15.5 Humans have reached the ‘threshold of capability for mass extinction’. Is this
an inevitable fate of evolving intelligent systems?
15.6 What factors are there to impede a life system from over saturating its
environment, producing a catastrophic collapse.
15.7 Outline what might be involved in a theory of punctuated evolution, i.e. the
cause for sudden spurts in the evolution of life forms. One avenue: Think of life
system evolution as adding structures and configurations that enhance purposeful
activity. Even though there are an astronomically large number of possible organic
structures, up to now, evolution must proceed by exploring only the effects of
small changes (some with large consequences!). The various possible configurations
can be associated with a number giving its viability. They also have a measure of
distance apart by how much the structures differ. Thus, a viability plot (‘surface’)
can be made, looking like a very jagged landscape. A given life form starts at or
11 Extending Newtonian dynamics to predict asteroid orbits to longer and longer times becomes
more and more difficult due to the chaotic behavior of the dynamics.