Is
Life Really Different from Non-life?
Proponents of a naturalistic explanation routinely appeal to the fact that the earth is an
open system. Thus, the sun provides the energy for systems to maintain their distance from
equilibrium ( existing in a low entropy state indefinitely). While this argument is
certainly true for life, it is not true for a bunch of chemicals residing in a puddle
somewhere on earth 4 billion years ago. Without a team of enzymes working together with
the common goal of self replication, energy sources do not help. There is simply no way to
harness the energy to achieve the goal.
Consider a man and his car with no gas in the desert. The man is not
concerned. He knows that he is in an open system and that he has an unlimited supply of
energy in sunlight. He theorizes that after the car absorbs enough sunlight, it will
suddenly start and he can drive home. His theory is flawed because his car does not know
how to use the energy from the sun to perform useful work, and 5 billion years will not
solve his problem.
Do Energy Sources Really Help?
Both experimental and theoretical evidence suggests that sunlight and other energy sources
make it harder to exist in a state far from equilibrium. This is easily understood in
terms of activation energies. A low entropy state may exist indefinitely as long as the
chemicals involved never obtain enough energy to cross the activation barrier, but such
states are very hard to maintain when energy is plentiful. Energy sources make the origin
of life even more difficult to explain. Why so many authors continue to point out their
benefits is hard to understand.
In order for a self replicating molecule to replicate indefinitely, it
must possess a mechanism to harness and use energy. Self replication decreases the entropy
of the universe, and as such, it always requires a source of energy. Therefore, unless a
self replicator possesses both the knowledge and ability to drive its replication with a
plentiful energy source, the molecule’s very existence violates the second law.
next: non-equillibrium
thermodynamics
home: Intelligent Design and the origin of life
|
