Irreversible processes constructive role

Thermodynamics had been studied both in far-from-equilibrium and in near-equilibrium situations. A near-equilibrium world is a stable world. Fluctuations regress. The system returns to equilibrium. The situation changes dramatically far from equilibrium. Here fluctuations may be amplified. As a result, new space-time structures arise at bifurcation points. We considered the possibility of oscillating reactions as early as in 1954, many years before they were studied systematically. We introduced concepts such as selforganization and dissipative structures, which became very popular. In short, irreversible processes associated to the flow of time have an important constructive role. Therefore, the question that arises is how to incorporate the direction of time into the fundamental laws of physics, be they classical or quantum. 

Here again the recent extension of thermodynamics to situations far from equilibrium is essential. Irreversible processes lead then to new space-time structures. They play therefore a basic constructive role. No life would be possible without irreversible processes (Chapter 19). It seems absurd to suggest that life would be the result of our approximations We therefore cannot deny the reality of entropy, the very essence of an arrow of time in nature. We are the children of evolution and not its progenitors. 

Since the time of my first graduation in science, I have been an enthusiastic reader of Boltzmann, whose dynamical vision of physical becoming was for me a model of intuition and penetration. Nonetheless, I could not but notice some unsatisfying aspects. It was clear to me that Boltzmann introduced hypotheses foreign to dynamics under such assumptions, to talk about a dynamical justification of thermodynamics seemed to me an excessive conclusion, to say the least. In my opinion, the identification of entropy with molecular disorder could contain only one part of the truth if, as I persisted in thinking, irreversible processes were endowed with the constructive role that I never cease to attribute to them. For another part, the applications of Boltzmann s methods were restricted to dilute gases, while I was most interested in condensed systems. [Prigogine, 1977/1993, p. 258]... 

On the other hand, in order to reduce the number of functional groups attached onto the CNT surface, a more elegant procedure involves the synthesis of SWCNTs functionalized polyamidoamide dendrimers. In this way, the extended conjugated n-system is not irreversibly perturbed and it is possible to modify further the periphery of the dendrimer with electron donor molecules to mediate the electron transfer process [131], Also in this case, the fluorescence kinetic studies brought about the existence of short-lived (0.04 0.01 ns) and long-Uved (8.6 1.2 ns) excited states. This kind of construct plays the unambiguous role of antenna system on the nanotube surface. 

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