{"title":"Dissipative systems have a maximum energy rate density of 105 W/kg","authors":"Martin van Duin","doi":"10.1140/epjb/s10051-024-00785-2","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Mass and energy rate (ER) data have been collected for a wide variety of dissipative systems from the biological, cultural, and cosmological realms. They range from 6 × 10<sup>–25</sup> kg and 3 × 10<sup>–25</sup> W for a synthetic, molecular engine to 1.5 × 10<sup>53</sup> kg and 10<sup>48</sup> W for the observable universe and, thus, span 78 mass and 73 ER orders of magnitude, respectively. The combination of (i) convergence of smaller systems (parts) to a larger system and (ii) scaling of ER as a function of mass with a power law constant β > 0 for groups of systems, explains why the ER and mass data points fall in a diagonal band in the double logarithmic ER <i>vs.</i> mass master plot. There appears to be an ER <i>vs.</i> mass limit, corresponding to an energy rate density (ERD = ER/mass) of around 10<sup>5</sup> W/kg, separating stable, dissipative systems from unstable, “explosive” systems (atomic weapons, supernova, <i>etc.</i>) in all realms. This limit is probably the result of a balance between the energy flow through a system, resulting in increased temperature and pressure, and the strength of the system’s structure and boundary. ERD has been proposed as a metric for the development of the complexity of dissipative systems over deep time Chaisson (Cosmic evolution; The rise of complexity in nature. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2002), Chaisson (Sci World J 384912, 2014). Thus, the observed ERD threshold of 10<sup>5</sup> W/kg may correspond to a maximum of complexity. Several ways to further increase complexity while circumventing this ERD limit are proposed.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":787,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal B","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"The European Physical Journal B","FirstCategoryId":"4","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epjb/s10051-024-00785-2","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PHYSICS, CONDENSED MATTER","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Mass and energy rate (ER) data have been collected for a wide variety of dissipative systems from the biological, cultural, and cosmological realms. They range from 6 × 10–25 kg and 3 × 10–25 W for a synthetic, molecular engine to 1.5 × 1053 kg and 1048 W for the observable universe and, thus, span 78 mass and 73 ER orders of magnitude, respectively. The combination of (i) convergence of smaller systems (parts) to a larger system and (ii) scaling of ER as a function of mass with a power law constant β > 0 for groups of systems, explains why the ER and mass data points fall in a diagonal band in the double logarithmic ER vs. mass master plot. There appears to be an ER vs. mass limit, corresponding to an energy rate density (ERD = ER/mass) of around 105 W/kg, separating stable, dissipative systems from unstable, “explosive” systems (atomic weapons, supernova, etc.) in all realms. This limit is probably the result of a balance between the energy flow through a system, resulting in increased temperature and pressure, and the strength of the system’s structure and boundary. ERD has been proposed as a metric for the development of the complexity of dissipative systems over deep time Chaisson (Cosmic evolution; The rise of complexity in nature. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2002), Chaisson (Sci World J 384912, 2014). Thus, the observed ERD threshold of 105 W/kg may correspond to a maximum of complexity. Several ways to further increase complexity while circumventing this ERD limit are proposed.