7 years ago
5
The Strange Inevitability of Evolution
Good solutions to biology’s problems are astonishingly plentiful. By Phillip Ball.
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+2Submitted 7 years ago by AdelleChattre
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+2Submitted 7 years ago by AdelleChattre
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+2Submitted 7 years ago by AdelleChattre
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I'm wondering whether this can be connected to statistical mechanics. It looks very similar to how groups of molecules explore phase space: the size of the set of possible configurations is vastly larger than the set of configurations actually visited by the system, but it is easy for the system to jump from one of the possible ones to another. It might be that evolution is a direct consequence of the second law of thermodynamics.
The second law of thermodynamics has to do with closed systems, something you can't say about nature. Creationist nutjobs have tried to argue it somehow disproves evolution. However, I think you're absolutely right.
I actually thought it would be ironic if it turns out that genes follow the rules of statistical mechanics and evolution is a consequence of the second law, precisely because the creationists like to argue that it is contrary to it :)
I must point out, however, that the second law applies to both closed and open systems, you just write the equations differently for each. This is not unique to the second law, any balance equation (be it for mass, energy, entropy, momentum, whatever) is written differently for closed and open systems, but reflects the same underlying principle.
Point taken. Isolation is a lie.
From a physical perspective, probably. Not quite sure from an equation point of view. Parceling equations.