At 03:51 PM 2014-08-25, Stanley N Salthe wrote:
Bob wrote:
Recall that some thermodynamic variables, especially work functions like
Helmholz & Gibbs free energies and exergy all are tightly related to
information measures. In statistical mechanical analogs, for example, the
exergy becomes RT times the mutual information among the molecules
S: So, the more organized, the more potential available energy.
I think not, Stan. Organization requires a middling degree of complexity. Exergy is maximized when the mutual information is 1, like in a crystal. Crystals are not highly organized. See Collier and Hooker Complexly Organised Dynamical Systems (1999) for discussion.
I happen to be a radical who feels that the term "energy" is a construct
with little ontological depth.
S: I believe it has instead ontological breadth!
It is a bookkeeping device (a nice one, of course, but bookkeeping nonetheless).
It was devised to maintain the Platonic worldview. Messrs. Meyer & Joule simply
gave us the conversion factors to make it look like energy is constant.
S: It IS constant in the adiabatic boxes used to measure it.
*Real* energy is always in decline -- witness what happens to the work functions I
just mentioned.
S: In decline in the actual material world that we inhabit. That is, the local world -- the world of input and dissipation. I think the information problem may be advanced if we try to explain why the energy efficiency of any work is so poor, and gets worse the harder we work. This is the key local phenomenon that needs to be understood.
Information can be used to improve efficiency.
John
Professor John Collier colli...@ukzn.ac.za
Philosophy and Ethics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041 South Africa
T: +27 (31) 260 3248 / 260 2292 F: +27 (31) 260 3031
Http://web.ncf.ca/collier
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