Description
Book SynopsisIn a book that has become a milestone of scientific writing Dr. Blum uses "time's arrow," the second law of thermodynamics, as a key concept to show how the nature and evolution of the nonliving world place limits on the nature and evolution of life. He seeks to show that, from the beginning of the universe, physical and chemical laws have inexorab
Table of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*PREFACE, pg. vii*CONTENTS, pg. xiii*I. PERSPECTIVES, pg. 1*II. THE CHRONOLOGY OF EVOLUTION, pg. 8*III. THE ENERGETICS AND KINETICS OF CHEMICAL REACTION, pg. 14*IV. THE ORIGIN AND EARLY EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH, pg. 34*V. LATER HISTORY OF THE EARTH, pg. 44*VI. THE FITNESS OF THE ENVIRONMENT, pg. 60*VII. THE ENERGETICS AND KINETICS OF LIVING SYSTEMS, pg. 87*VIII. STRUCTURE AND ITS REPRODUCTION, pg. 120*IX. STABILITY AND VARIABILITY, pg. 135*X. THE ORIGIN OF LIFE, pg. 151*XI. IRREVERSIBILITY AND DIRECTION IN EVOLUTION, pg. 173*XII. SOME IMPLICATIONS, pg. 189*XIII. ORDER, NEGENTROPY, AND EVOLUTION, pg. 200*BIBLIOGRAPHY, pg. 221*INDEX, pg. 229
