2017/03/08 by Michał Mandrysz, Mandrysz, Michal, Jakub Mielczarek +1
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems (nlin.AO) #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution #FOS: Physical sciences #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph) #Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1703.03301
openalex publication_date 2017/03/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The rising complexity of our terrestrial surrounding is an empirical fact. Details of this process evaded description in terms of physics for long time attracting attention and creating myriad of ideas including non-scientific ones. In this essay we explain the phenomenon of the growth of complexity by combining our up to date understanding of cosmology, non-equilibrium physics and thermodynamics. We argue that the observed increase of complexity is causal in nature, stands in agreement with the second law of thermodynamics and has it's origin in the cosmological expansion. Moreover, we highlight the connection between the leader of complexity growth in localized areas of space with free energy rate density, starting from the largest scales towards the smaller ones. Finally, in the light of recent advances in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, our belief in the causal structure of modern scientific theories is transferred to biological systems. On relevant scales, adaptation and complexity growth follows a similar pattern, in which free energy rate density is provided by an external electromagnetic radiation. The presented, holistic approach, arms us with predicting power about variety of attributes of complex systems and leads to a chain of successful explanations on all scales of the Universe.