"Prigogine's great contribution lies in his successful development of a satisfactory theory of non-linear thermodynamics in states which are far removed from equilibrium. In doing so he has discovered phenomena and structures of completely new and completely unexpected types, with the result that this generalized, nonlinear and irreversible thermodynamics has already been given surprising applications in a wide variety of fields. Prigogine has been particularly captivated by the problem of explaining how ordered structures - biological systems, for example - can develop from disorder. Even if Onsager's relations are utilized, the classical principles of equilibrium in thermodynamics still show that linear systems close to equilibrium always develop into states of disorder which are stable to perturbations and cannot explain the occurrence of ordered structures."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Academics from RussiaNobel laureates in ChemistryPeople from MoscowPhysicists from RussiaPhysicists from Belgium
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
From: Nobel Lectures, Chemistry 1971-1980, Editor-in-Charge Tore Frängsmyr, Editor Sture Forsén, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1993.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ilya_Prigogine
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Ilya Prigogine
Ilya Prigogine (25 January 1917 – 28 May 2003) was a Belgian physical chemist of Russian-Jewish origin, noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility. Prigogine's work most notably earned him the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, as well as the Francqui Prize in 1955 and the Rumford Medal in 1976.
20 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Ilya Prigogine →
Related Quotes
"Coherent behavior is the characteristic feature of biological systems."
"Given my interest in the concept of time, it was only natural that my attention was focused on the second principle, …"
"My colleague Paul Glansdorff and I have investigated the problem as to if the results of near-equilibrium can be extr…"
"The probability that at ordinary temperatures a macroscopic number of molecules is assembled to give rise to the high…"
"The functional order maintained within living systems seems to defy the Second Law; nonequilibrium thermodynamics des…"
"The ideas of nonequilibrium order and of the search for stability extend Darwin’s concept back to the prebiotic stage…"
"In an isolated system, which cannot exchange energy and matter with the surroundings, this tendency is expressed in t…"
"We have seen that the formation and maintenance of self-organizing systems are compatible with the laws of physical c…"
"The evolution of a physicochemical system leads to an equilibrium state of maximum disorder."
"The problem of time in physics and chemistry is closely related to the formulation of the second law of thermodynamic…"