Student Scholarship
Document Type
Research Paper
Abstract
Thermodynamics is the branch of science concerned with energy changes that accompany all natural processes. While there are three primary laws, the Second Law of Thermodynamics is the most far-reaching due to its influence on the direction of time and its philosophical implications for life and the universe. Central to this law is the concept of entropy, which serves as a measure of disorder or randomness within a system. All spontaneous processes are irreversible and naturally progress toward a state of maximum entropy and lowest energy.
One significant implication of the Second Law involves the origin of life. While the evolution of complex, ordered biological structures seems to defy the trend toward disorder, life does not actually violate thermodynamic principles. Localized decreases in entropy, such as the development of a living organism, are possible only because they are accompanied by a much larger increase in entropy elsewhere in the system, specifically through the constant drenching of energy from the sun. Furthermore, while the spontaneous formation of organic molecules is highly improbable, the vast span of geological time turned the impossible into the probable.
The Second Law also explains the environmental crisis of thermal pollution. Because heat engines cannot convert heat energy completely into mechanical energy, they must discharge waste heat into the surroundings. This inefficiency leads to rising temperatures in aquatic ecosystems, which can become biological deserts as oxygen levels drop and toxic algae flourish. Finally, on a cosmic scale, the Second Law predicts the eventual heat death of the universe. As galaxies recede and energy diffuses into the void, the universe moves toward a state of uniform temperature where all physical and chemical processes must eventually cease.
Research Highlights
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The Problem: The researcher investigates how the Second Law of Thermodynamics influences the origin of life, the environmental impact of thermal pollution, and the eventual "heat-death" of the universe.
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The Method: The study analyzes thermodynamic principles—specifically entropy and heat flow—alongside historical experiments by Redi, Pasteur, and Miller to reconcile biological complexity and industrial waste with physical laws.
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Quantitative Finding: Fossil-fueled power plants operate at 40% efficiency and discharge 45% of heat into cooling water; nuclear plants operate at 33% efficiency and release 62% of heat into cooling water; most fish cannot survive in water temperatures above 30°C.
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Finding: The origin of life does not violate the Second Law because the local decrease in entropy on Earth is offset by a much larger increase in the entropy of the sun; however, the universe is inexorably progressing toward a state of maximum disorder and uniform temperature.
Publication Date
1973
Recommended Citation
Barklage, Nancy, "Some Implications of the Second Law of Thermodynamics" (1973). Student Scholarship. 171.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/student-research-papers/171
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
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