AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 233, Issue 5 171-R180, Copyright © 1977 by American Physiological Society
A field and circuit thermodynamics for integrative physiology. I. Introduction to the general notions
A. S. Iberall
In this first of three articles on a physical basis for integrative
physiology, statistical mechanical concepts are developed into a field
thermodynamics. The development begins by comparing the different ways
change is viewed in biology compared to physics. The Hamiltonian field
concept unites the two. The requirements of a thermostatic description are
introduced; then those of nonequilibrium thermodynamics are added.
Conditions suitable for continuum, near-equilibrium analysis of systems are
given; then the role of physical forces in organization is discussed. The
development returns to statistical mechanics, and introduces conservation
principles and equations of change for ensembles of interacting units. A
general notion of systems and thermodynamic engines is discussed next, and
a narrative account of the explanatory scope of field thermodynamics is
given. Its applications to living systems are the subject of the subsequent
two articles of this series.
