An Equation Simultaneously Encodes the Duality of The Mind and The Body

The mind-body problem is the central issue in both of philosophy and life science for several centuries. To date, there is still no conclusive theory to interpret the relation between the mind and the body, even just the mind alone. Here, we promote a novel model, a derived mathematic equation called the entropic system equation, to describe the innate characters of the mind and the mechanism of the mind-body coupling phenomenon. As the semi-open thermodynamic systems far from equilibrium, the living organisms could be logically considered as an entropic system. In the living organisms or the entropic systems, there also are three essential existing elements including mass, energy and information, in which the mind and the body are hypothetically coupled by free energy and entropic force.

IRREVERSIBILITY OF FRICTION AND WEAR PROCESSES

Ways of energy dissipation by friction are analysed from a thermodynamic perspective. The non-equilibrium and irreversibility of processes in tribological systems are found to be sufficient conditions for energy dissipation. M. Planck’s currently prevailing opinion that mechanical work can be converted into heat without limitations, e.g., by means of heat, is demonstrated not to apply to the friction of solids subject to wear. Ranges of work conversion into friction heat are determined. The generation of tribological wear particles is dependent on work of mechanical dissipation and its components – surface and volume work. A friction pair or its fragments, where energy is directly dissipated, are treated as open thermodynamic systems. The processes in place are described with the first law of thermodynamics equation. The effect of friction heat and the work of mechanical dissipation on variations of internal energy, enthalpy, and energy transferred to the environment as heat are defined. These dependences should be addressed when planning and interpreting tribological tests.

Two conceptions of consciousness and why only the neo-Aristotelian one enables us to construct evolutionary explanations

Descartes separated the physical from the mental realm and presupposed a causal relation between conscious experience and neural processes. He denominated conscious experiences ‘thoughts’ and held them to be indubitable. However, the question of how we can bridge the gap between subjective experience and neural activity remained unanswered, and attempts to integrate the Cartesian conception with evolutionary theory has not resulted in explanations and testable hypotheses. It is argued that the alternative neo-Aristotelian conception of the mind as the capacities of intellect and will resolves these problems. We discuss how the neo-Aristotelian conception, extended with the notion that organisms are open thermodynamic systems that have acquired heredity, can be integrated with evolutionary theory, and elaborate how we can explain four different forms of consciousness in evolutionary terms.

Thermodynamic Neural Network

A thermodynamically motivated neural network model is described that self-organizes to transport charge associated with internal and external potentials while in contact with a thermal reservoir. The model integrates techniques for rapid, large-scale, reversible, conservative equilibration of node states and slow, small-scale, irreversible, dissipative adaptation of the edge states as a means to create multiscale order. All interactions in the network are local and the network structures can be generic and recurrent. Isolated networks show multiscale dynamics, and externally driven networks evolve to efficiently connect external positive and negative potentials. The model integrates concepts of conservation, potentiation, fluctuation, dissipation, adaptation, equilibration and causation to illustrate the thermodynamic evolution of organization in open systems. A key conclusion of the work is that the transport and dissipation of conserved physical quantities drives the self-organization of open thermodynamic systems.

PREPARATION OF THE COSMIC EXPERIMENT "COULOMB-PLASMA"

Studies of dusty plasma have been actively carried out for about a quarter of a century in many laboratories on Earth, and on board the International Space Station under microgravity conditions. At present, a new experiment is being prepared. We describe the goals and objectives of the experiment, its features and differences from previous experiments, explain the need for it in microgravity. The objective of the experiment is to study the evolution of the open dissipative systems of strongly interacting macroparticles in a gas-discharge plasma, to obtain data on phase transitions and dynamics of active Brownian particles and dynamics of defects and dislocations in plasma-dust structures. Key words: dusty plasma, microgravity, cosmic experiment, open thermodynamic systems, active Brownian particles

Thermodynamic formulations of continuum growth of solid bodies

The thermodynamics of open systems exchanging mass, heat, energy, and entropy with their environment is examined as a convenient unifying framework to describe the evolution of growing solid bodies in the context of volumetric growth. Following the theory of non-equilibrium thermodynamics (NET) introduced by De Donder and followers from the Brussels School of Thermodynamics, the formulation of the NET of irreversible processes for multicomponent solid bodies is shortly reviewed. In the second part, extending the framework of NET to open thermodynamic systems, the balance laws for continuum solid bodies undergoing growth phenomena incorporating mass sources and mass fluxes are expressed, leading to a formulation of the second principle highlighting the duality between irreversible fluxes and conjugated driving forces. A connection between NET and the open system thermodynamic formulation for growing continuum solid bodies is obtained by interpreting the balance laws with source terms as contributions from an external reservoir of nutrients.