![]() ![]() He knew that the physics of his time was insufficient to explain some of the ingenious experimental findings that had already been made about living cells, but he ploughed on regardless, attempting to use the physics he knew to explain biology. Schrödinger believed that the same laws of physics that describe a star must account for the intricate processes of metabolism within a living cell. In 1943, he gave a series of lectures at Trinity College Dublin that would eventually be published in a tiny, but mighty, book called What Is Life? In it, he speculated on how physics could team up with biology and chemistry to explain how life emerges from inanimate matter. Physicist Erwin Schrödinger’s views were particularly interesting, as his audacious speculations and predictions in biology have been hugely influential. Notable scientists, including John von Neumann, Erwin Schrödinger, Claude Shannon and Roger Penrose, have entertained the idea that there could be insights to gather from looking at life and the universe in tandem. ![]() Similarly, to biologists, life is housed in a biosphere that is decoupled from the happenings of the grandiose universe. To cosmologists, complex systems like life seem of little consequence to the problems they are trying to solve, such as those relating to the big bang or the standard model of particle physics. This chain of events also led to us, although we often see life and the formation of the universe as separate, or “non-overlapping magisteria” to borrow biologist Stephen Jay Gould’s phrase. You can sign up for the Lost in Space-Time here.Īt the dawn of time, the universe exploded into existence with the big bang, kick-starting a chain of events that led to subatomic particles clumping together into atoms, molecules and, eventually, the planets, stars and galaxies we see today. Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or two to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner of the universe. ![]() Meissner effect assumption of molecular disorder generation of Joule heat irreversible thermodynamic process law of entropy increase persistent current phase transition reversible thermodynamic process superconducting transition.The following is an extract from our Lost in Space-Time newsletter. The success of the conventional theory of superconductivity forces us to consider the validity of belief in the law of entropy increase. The persistent current annihilates after the transition into the normal state with the generation of Joule heat and reappears during the return to the superconducting state according to this theory and contrary to the law of entropy increase. This change has resulted to the internal inconsistency of the conventional theory of superconductivity, which is created within the framework of reversible thermodynamics, but predicts Joule heating. Belief in the law of entropy increase forced physicists to change their understanding of the superconducting transition, which is considered a phase transition after 1933. However, if this transition is irreversible, then the Meissner effect discovered in 1933 is experimental evidence of a process reverse to the irreversible process. Therefore, this transition was considered as an irreversible thermodynamic process before 1933. The persistent current, an undamped electric current observed in a superconductor, annihilates after the transition into the normal state. The annihilation of an electric current in normal metal with the generation of Joule heat because of a non-zero resistance is a well-known example of an irreversible process. The law of entropy increase postulates the existence of irreversible processes in physics: the total entropy of an isolated system can increase, but cannot decrease. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |