FACTOID # 83: More than half of Indonesia's primary school teachers are under 30years of age .
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS    Advanced view

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Biological energy

In thermodynamics, biological thermodynamics (Greek: bios = life and logikos = reason + Greek: thermos = heat and dynamics = power) or bioenergetics[1] is the study of energy transformation in the biological sciences. More definitively, biological thermodynamics may be defined as the quantitative study of the energy transductions that occur in and between living organisms, structures, and cells and of the nature and function of the chemical processes underlying these transductions. Biological thermodynamics may address the question of whether the benefit associated with any particular phenotypic trait is worth the energy investment it requires. Thermodynamics (from the Greek θερμη, therme, meaning heat and δυναμις, dunamis, meaning power) is a branch of physics that studies the effects of changes in temperature, pressure, and volume on physical systems at the macroscopic scale by analyzing the collective motion of their particles using statistics. ... In physics and engineering,energy transformation often termed as energy conversion, is any process of transforming one form of energy to another. ... Biology studies the variety of life (clockwise from top-left) E. coli, tree fern, gazelle, Goliath beetle Biology is the science of life (from the Greek words bios = life and logos = word). ... Individuals in the mollusk species Donax variabilis show diverse coloration and patterning in their phenotypes. ...

Contents

History

German-British medical doctor and biochemist Hans Krebs' 1957 book Energy Transformations in Living Matter (written with Hans Kornberg)[2] was the first major publication on the thermodynamics of biochemical reactions. In addition, the appendix contained the first-ever published thermodynamic tables, written by K. Burton, to contain equilibrium constants and Gibbs free energy of formations for chemical species, able to calculate biochemical reactions that had not yet occurred.[3] General of Infantry Hans Krebs (4 March 1898, Helmstedt - d. ... Sir Hans Kornberg (born 14 January 1928) is a British biologist and a Fellow of the Royal Society. ... In thermodynamics, the Gibbs free energy is a thermodynamic potential which measures the useful work obtainable from a closed thermodynamic system at a constant temperature and pressure. ...


Overview

Living cells and organisms must perform work to stay alive, to grow, and to reproduce themselves. The ability to harness energy from a variety of metabolic pathways so to channel it into biological work is a fundamental property of all living organisms. Thermodynamically, the amount of energy capable of doing work during a chemical reaction is measured quantitatively by the change in the Gibbs free energy. The physical biologist Alfred Lotka attempted to unify the change in the Gibbs free energy with evolutionary theory. In thermodynamics, thermodynamic work is the quantity of energy transferred from one system to another. ... In thermodynamics, the Gibbs free energy is a thermodynamic potential which measures the useful work obtainable from a closed thermodynamic system at a constant temperature and pressure. ... Alfred James Lotka (March 2, 1880 - December 5, 1949) was a US mathematician and statistician, most famous for his work in population dynamics. ...


Typical emphasis is on thermodynamic applications in biology and biochemistry. Principles covered include the first law of thermodynamics, the second law of thermodynamics, Gibbs free energy, statistical thermodynamics, binding equilibria, reaction kinetics, and on hypotheses of the origin of life. Presently, biological thermodynamics concerns itself with the study of internal biochemical dynamics as: ATP hydrolysis, protein stability, DNA binding, membrane diffusion, enzyme kinetics,[4] and other such essential energy controlled pathways. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and transformations in living organisms. ... The first law of thermodynamics, a generalized expression of the law of the conservation of energy, states: // Description Essentially, the First Law of Thermodynamics declares that energy is conserved for a closed system, with heat and work being the forms of energy transfer. ... The second law of thermodynamics is an expression of the universal law of increasing entropy. ... Statistical mechanics is the application of statistics, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ... Chemical substances in a system may increase or decrease in concentration with time due to chemical reactions. ...


See also

Energetics is the scientific study of energy flows under transformation. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

References

  1. ^ MeSH Bioenergetics
  2. ^ Alberty R (2004). "A short history of the thermodynamics of enzyme-catalyzed reactions". J Biol Chem 279 (27): 27831-6. PMID 15073189. 
  3. ^ [ http://www.squaldrina.com/blog/medicine/krebss.htm Hans Krebs] - 1935
  4. ^ Reactions and Enzymes Chapter 10 of On-Line Biology Book at Estrella Mountain Community College.
  • Haynie, D. (2001). Biological Thermodynamics (textbook). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Lehninger, A., Nelson, D., & Cox, M. (1993). Principles of Biochemistry, 2nd Ed (textbook). New York: Worth Publishers.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. ... Robert A. Alberty is an American biophysical chemist, Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. ...

External links

  • Cellular Thermodynamics - Wolfe, J. (2002), Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. www.els.net/els/public/home/, London: Nature Publishing Group.


 
 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms, 1022, m