tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post4789667751271289606..comments2024-03-28T17:13:01.117+10:00Comments on Condensed concepts: How can living organisms be so highly ordered?Ross H. McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-65811022376360425322009-07-31T09:24:28.178+10:002009-07-31T09:24:28.178+10:00That's a good figure Ross, it provides a good ...That's a good figure Ross, it provides a good conceptual illustration of getting work, or perhaps even order, from the increasing disorder in one part of the system. Another illustration I personally like is the lipid bi-layer, which is apparently highly ordered and obviously very abundant in any organism. However if we consider a single lipid in solution, we can see that the resulting hydration shell is actually more ordered than the solution around a lipid bi-layer. Therefore, the formation of ordered lipid bi-layers increases the disorder of the solution, resulting in a net increase in entropy and holding true to the second law of thermodynamics.<br />Talk to you soon, Alexander.Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12337062953386735471noreply@blogger.com