Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics and the Production of Entropy - Life, Earth, and Beyond

The present volume studies the application of concepts from non-equilibrium thermodynamics to a variety of research topics. Emphasis is on the Maximum Entropy Production (MEP) principle and applications to Geosphere-Biosphere couplings. Written by leading researchers from a wide range of backgrounds, the book presents a first coherent account of an emerging field at the interface of thermodynamics, geophysics and life sciences.

List of contents

Entropy Production by Earth System Processes.- Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics in an Energy-Rich Universe.- Stumbling Into the MEP Racket: An Historical Perspective.- Maximum Entropy Production and Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics.- Using Ecology to Quantify Organization in Fluid Flows.- Cosmological and Biological Reproducibility: Limits on the Maximum Entropy Production Principle.- Entropy Production in Turbulent Mixing.- Entropy Production of Atmospheric Heat Transport.- Water Vapor and Entropy Production in the Earth's Atmosphere.- Thermodynamics of the Ocean Circulation: A Global Perspective on the Ocean System and Living Systems.- Entropy and the Shaping of the Landscape by Water.- Entropy Production in the Planetary Context.- The Free-Energy Transduction and Entropy Production in Initial Photosynthetic Reactions.- Biotic Entropy Production and Global Atmosphere-Biosphere Interactions.- Coupled Evolution of Earth's Atmosphere and Biosphere.- Temperature, Biogenesis and Biospheric Self-Organization.- Entropy and Gaia: Is there a Link Between MEP and Self-Regulation in the Climate System?- Insights from Thermodynamics for the Analysis of Economic Processes.

Summary

The present volume studies the application of concepts from non-equilibrium thermodynamics to a variety of research topics. Emphasis is on the Maximum Entropy Production (MEP) principle and applications to Geosphere-Biosphere couplings. Written by leading researchers from a wide range of backgrounds, the book presents a first coherent account of an emerging field at the interface of thermodynamics, geophysics and life sciences.

Product details

• Assisted by: D Lorenz (Editor), D Lorenz (Editor), Axe Kleidon (Editor), Axel Kleidon (Editor), Ralph D. Lorenz (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 13.10.2010
• EAN: 9783642061356
• ISBN: 978-3-642-06135-6
• No. of pages: 264
• Dimensions: 155 mm x 15 mm x 235 mm
• Weight: 435 g
• Illustrations: XX, 264 p.
• Series: Understanding Complex Systems; Understanding Complex Systems
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Miscellaneous; Geophysik, C, Biologie, Biowissenschaften, Astronomie, Raum und Zeit, Meteorologie und Klimatologie (Klimaforschung), Thermodynamik und Wärme, Geophysics, Kybernetik und Systemtheorie, Complex systems, Thermodynamics, Physics and Astronomy, Thermodynamics & heat, Earth Sciences, Geobiology, Biogeosciences, Dynamical systems, Geophysics/Geodesy, Atmospheric Sciences, Astrobiology, UFOs & extraterrestrial beings, Dynamics & statics, Statistical physics, Atmospheric Science