EVOLUTION (Energy flow and)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1194 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
A. LOTKA formulated an hypothesis according to which the essential logic of evolution corresponds to the maximal use of the available free energy.
He surmises that the planet as a whole is an energy dissipative system, under the guise of what he calls the “world engine”. This latter would be a global system endowed with multiple correlations, being an integrated set of numerous coupled energy transformers (green plants, plankton, herbivores, carnivores) able to use maximally the global energy flow.
According to LOTKA, the basic tendency of evolution is to improve this transformation line by eliminating the less efficient species and favor the most efficient ones. He made (in 1924) this suggestive prediction, placing man as the most powerful energy transformer: “…the problem of economy in husbanding resources will not rise to its full importance until the available resources are more completely tapped than they are today. Every indication is that man will learn to utilize some of the sunlight that now goes to waste. The general effect will be to increase the rate of energy flux through the system of organic nature, with a parallel increase in the total mass of the great world transformer, of its rate of circulation, or both” (l956, p.357-8).