The Second Law of Thermodynamics in Bioenergetics

Bioenergetic processes are viewed as processes of free energy transduction. The free energies of both local equilibrium and fluctuation states are being considered. It is shown that the exchange of thermal energy with the surrounding medium, acting as a reservoir, does not violate the second law of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 71; no. 7; pp. 2655 - 2657
Main Author:	Kemeny, Gabor
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 01-07-1974 National Acad Sciences
Subjects:	Active sites Biological Sciences: Biophysics Energy Enthalpy Entropy Enzymes Free energy Heat Thermal energy Thermodynamic equilibrium Thermodynamics
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Bioenergetic processes are viewed as processes of free energy transduction. The free energies of both local equilibrium and fluctuation states are being considered. It is shown that the exchange of thermal energy with the surrounding medium, acting as a reservoir, does not violate the second law of thermodynamics within broad limits. There is sufficient latitude for proteins to carry out their function of transduction utilizing thermal energy in the process.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0027-8424 1091-6490
DOI:	10.1073/pnas.71.7.2655