Progress in Entropy Principle, as Disclosed by Nine Schools of Thermodynamics, and Its Ecological Implication

The entropy principle has been commonly considered to be a selection principle. A history/philosophy-of-science analysis of development in thermodynamic thought was carried out based on a historical account of contributions to thermodynamics of nine Schools of thermodynamics plus that of Mayer/Joule (the Mayer-Joule principle), publication of A Treatise of Heat and Energy, development in maximum entropy production principle (MEPP), and process ecology formulated by Ulanowicz. The analysis discloses the dual nature in the entropy principle, as selection principle and causal principle, and that as well in thermodynamics: as equilibrium thermodynamics (Gibbsian thermodynamics) and as “engineering” thermodynamics in a general sense. Entropy-growth-potential (EGP) as the causal agent and the theory of engineering thermodynamics entail the concept of causal necessity, as suggested by Poincare. Recent development of the entropy principle into maximum entropy production principle (MEPP) is then critically analyzed. Special attention is paid to MEPP’s explanatory power of biological orders vs. that of process ecology: whereas MEPP asserts universal approach to physics and biology based on physical necessity and efficient causation, the case for “EGP as the causal agent and process ecology” allows biology to be different from physics by allowing the additional presupposition of causal necessity and efficacious causation.

Exploring the possible meridional temperature gradient of Early Eocene Climatic Optimum with an energy balance model

<p>Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO, ~53-51 million years) is one of the past warm periods, associated with high CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations (~900-2500 ppmv), which can serve as an analogue for our possible future, high C0<sub>2 </sub>climate. One notable feature of this hothouse climate state is the weaker meridional temperature gradient relative to pre-industrial values. This have been confirmed by both proxies and models, but the extent of the temperature gradient still requires more research. Models are challenged to reproduce the stronger than present day polar amplification signal, and it is also shown that high latitude proxy data are often influenced by seasonal bias. Thus, there is an uncertainty regarding both the observed and modelled meridional gradient and the mentioned issues complicate also the comparison between modeled and proxy data.</p><p>In our work we aim to investigate the EECO period with a simple energy balance box model and apply the maximum entropy production principle to explore the possible scenarios of meridional temperature gradients. We find that the maximum entropy production principle could be beneficial in the paleoclimate context since it has the utility to give an accurate prediction for non-equilibrium systems with the minimal amount of information. We also assess the heat transport signaled by proxy data and by state-of-the-art model outputs in accordance to our theoretical constrains based on the idealized test case.</p>

A Statistical Inference of the Principle of Maximum Entropy Production

The maximization of entropy S within a closed system is accepted as an inevitability (as the second law of thermodynamics) by statistical inference alone. The Maximum Entropy Production Principle (MEPP) states that not only S maximizes, but $\dot{S}$ as well: a system will dissipate as fast as possible. There is still no consensus on the general validity of this MEPP, even though it shows remarkable explanatory power (both qualitatively and quantitatively), and has been empirically demonstrated for many domains. In this theoretical paper I provide a generalization of entropy gradients, to show that the MEPP actually follows from the same statistical inference, as that of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. For this generalization I only use the concepts of super-statespaces and microstate-density. These concepts also allow for the abstraction of 'Self Organizing Criticality' to a bifurcating local difference in this density, and allow for a generalization of the fundamentally unresolved concepts of 'chaos' and 'order'.