NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Biological thermodynamics

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. Bioenergetic Analysis is a body-oriented psychotherapy based on the expression of feelings and the re-establishment of energy flow in the body. ... Thermodynamics (from the Greek Î¸ÎµÏÎ¼Î·, therme, meaning heat and Î´Ï…Î½Î±Î¼Î¹Ï‚, 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. ...

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] Sir Hans Adolf Krebs (August 25, 1900 â€“ November 22, 1981) was a German, later British medical doctor and biochemist. ... 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. ...

Bioenergetics

Growth, development and metabolism are some of the central phenomena in the study of biological organisms. Living cells and organisms must perform work to stay alive, to grow, and to reproduce themselves. The energy concept is useful to explain such biological processes. The ability to harness energy from a variety of metabolic pathways and channellize it into activities of organism is a fundamental property of all living organisms. Sustenance of life is critically dependent on energy transformations; living organisms survive because of exchange of energy within and without. The term cell growth is used in two different ways in biology. ... Views of a Foetus in the Womb, Leonardo da Vinci, ca. ... A few of the metabolic pathways in a cell. ... In biology and ecology, an organism (in Greek organon = instrument) is a living being. ... In thermodynamics, thermodynamic work is the quantity of energy transferred from one system to another. ... A biological process is a process of a living organism. ... For other uses, see Life (disambiguation). ... In physics and engineering,energy transformation often termed as energy conversion, is any process of transforming one form of energy to another. ...

In a living organism chemical bonds are constantly broken and made to make the exchange and transformation of energy possible. These chemical bonds are most often bonds in carbohydrates, including sugars. Other chemical bonds include bonds in chemical compounds that are important for metabolism, for example, those in a molecule of ATP or fats and oils. These molecules, along with oxygen, are common stores of concentrated energy for the biological processes. One can therefore assert that transformation of energy from a more to a less concentrated form is the driving force of all biological processes or chemical processes that are responsible for the life of a biological organism. Molecular biology and biochemistry are in fact scientific studies concerning the making and breaking of chemical bonds in the molecules found in biological organisms. A chemical bond is the physical process responsible for the attractive interactions between atoms and molecules, and that which confers stability to diatomic and polyatomic chemical compounds. ... Carbohydrates (literally hydrates of carbon) are chemical compounds that act as the primary biological means of storing or consuming energy, other forms being fat and protein. ... A few of the metabolic pathways in a cell. ... Adenosine 5-triphosphate (ATP) is a multifunctional nucleotide that is most important as a molecular currency of intracellular energy transfer. ... ... A biological process is a process of a living organism. ... A biological process is a process of a living organism. ... In a scientific sense, a chemical process is a method or means of somehow changing one or more chemicals or chemical compounds. ... Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. ... Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. ... In science, a molecule is the smallest particle of a pure chemical substance that still retains its chemical composition and properties. ... In biology and ecology, an organism (in Greek organon = instrument) is a living being. ...

Non-equilibrium thermodynamics has been applied for explaining how biological organisms can develop from disorder. Even with the application of Onsager reciprocal relations the classical principles of equilibrium thermodynamics show that systems close to equilibrium always develop into states of disorder which are stable to perturbations and cannot explain the occurrence of ordered structures. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics is a branch of thermodynamics concerned with studying time-dependent thermodynamic systems, irreversible transformations and open systems. ... In thermodynamics, the Onsager reciprocal relations express the equality of certain relations between flows and forces in thermodynamical systems out of equilibrium, but where a notion of local equilibrium exists. ... Equilibrium Thermodynamics (Latin: aequalis = level and libra = weight or balance + Greek: thermos = heat and dynamis = power) is the systematic study of transformations of matter and energy in systems as they approach equilibrium. ...

Ilya Prigogine developed the methods for the thermodynamic treatment of such systems, he called these systems dissipative systems, because they are formed and maintained by the dissipative processes which take place because of the exchange of energy between the system and its environment and because they disappear if that exchange ceases. They may be said to live in symbiosis with their environment. Energy transformations in biology are primarily due to the chemical synthesis and decompositions that are brought about by the energy absorbed by organisms from sunlight through insolation^[4] and photosynthesis. The total energy captured by photosynthesis in green plants from the solar radiation is about 2 x 10²³ joules of energy per year.^[5] Annual energy captured by photosynthesis in green plants is about 4% of the total sunlight energy which reaches Earth. The energy transformations in biological communities surrounding hydrothermal vents are exceptions. They oxidize sulfur, obtaining their energy via chemosynthesis rather than photosynthesis. The oxygen used to do this is photosynthetically derived, but the sulfur in the thermodynamically unstable, non-oxidized state exists due to geothermal energy. Ilya Prigogine (January 25, 1917 â€“ May 28, 2003) was a Belgian physicist and chemist noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility. ... A dissipative system (or dissipative structure) is an open system which is operating far from thermodynamic equilibrium within an environment that exchanges energy, matter or entropy. ... Chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of 1-carbon molecules (usually carbon dioxide or methane) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic molecules (e. ... Not to be confused with insulation. ... The leaf is the primary site of photosynthesis in plants. ... A hydrothermal vent A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planets surface from which geothermally heated water issues. ... Chemosynthesis is the biological conversion of 1-carbon molecules (usually carbon dioxide or methane) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic molecules (e. ...

Food, ingested by an organism contains several chemical substances and hence has chemical energy. Not all metabolizable energy is available for the production of ATP^[6]. Some energy is utilized during the metabolic processes associated with digestion, absorption and intermediary metabolism of food and can be measured as heat production; this is referred to as dietary-induced thermogenesis (DIT), or thermic effect of food, and varies with the type of food ingested. The predator-prey relationships, food chains, are in effect energy transformations within ecosystems. Water and steam are two different forms of the same chemical substance A chemical substance is any material with a definite chemical composition, no matter where it comes from. ... In chemistry, a chemical bond is the force which holds together atoms in molecules or crystals. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In ecology, an ecosystem is a community of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms - also referred as biocenose) together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a unit. ...

The focus of thermodynamics in biology

The field of biological thermodynamics is focussed on thermodynamic applications of the principles of chemical thermodynamics in biology and biochemistry. Principles covered include the first law of thermodynamics, the second law of thermodynamics, Gibbs free energy, statistical thermodynamics, 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,^[7] and other such essential energy controlled pathways. 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. Willard Gibbs - founder of chemical thermodynamics In thermodynamics, chemical thermodynamics is the mathematical study of the interrelation of heat and work with chemical reactions or with a physical change of state within the confines of the laws of thermodynamics. ... Biology studies the variety of life (clockwise from top-left) E. coli, tree fern, gazelle, Goliath beetle Biology (from Greek: Î²Î¯Î¿Ï‚, bio, life; and Î»ÏŒÎ³Î¿Ï‚, logos, knowledge), also referred to as the biological sciences, is the study of living organisms utilizing the scientific method. ... Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes 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. ... 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. ...

Encyclopedia > Biological thermodynamics

Contents

History

Bioenergetics

The focus of thermodynamics in biology

See also

References

Further reading

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