Chemistry - Molecular Theory of the Living Cell - page 74

Fig. 3.3 The triadic relation
between dissipatons
(dissipative structures)
and equilibrons (equilibrium
structures)

Equilibrons
(Structures)

Dissipatons =

Processes Mechanisms

BPB

equilibrons . Here I am distinguishing between dissipative structures and processes.
Dissipative structures are processes but not all processes are dissipative structures.
For example, unless meticulous experimental conditions are satisfied (such as the
concentration ranges of the reactants, the surface condition of the reaction vessel,
temperature, pressure, etc.) the same set of reactions (i.e., processes) giving rise to
pattern formations in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction under the right set of
conditions may proceed without producing any patterns of chemical concentration
gradients. Another more mundane example would be the combustion engine:
Without the mechanical boundaries provided by the cylinder block and the mobile
piston, the oxidation of gasoline in the combustion chamber would lead to an
explosion without producing any directed motions of the crankshaft. Thus it is
clear that the boundary conditions (and in some cases the initial conditions as well)
of chemical reactions are of an utmost importance in successfully producing
dissipative structures . The boundaries that constrain motions to produce coordi-
nated motions leading to some functions will be referred to as the
Bernstein-Polanyi boundaries to recognize the theoretical contributions made by
Bernstein (1967) and Polanyi (1968) in the fields of structure-function correlations
at the human-body and molecular levels (see Sect. 15.12 ). Thus, we can view a
dissipaton or a dissipative structure as an irreducible triad as shown in Fig. 3.3 .
Dissipatons are defined as those processes , selected by some goal-directed or
teleonomic mechanisms because of their ability to accomplish some functions. For
this reason, dissipatons carry “meanings” whereas processes do not. Goal-directed
or teleonomic mechanisms include enzyme-catalyzed chemical reactions and the
biological evolution itself. The subscript, BPB, on the right-hand side of the bracket
in Fig. 3.3 stands for the Bernstein-Polanyi boundaries , the boundary conditions
essential for harnessing the laws of physics and chemistry to constrain motions to
achieve functions . Thus, the following dictum suggests itself:

Without Bernstein-Polanyi boundaries, no function. (3.5)
Figure 3.3 indicates that equilibrons are a necessary condition for dissipatons but
not a sufficient one. The sufficient condition includes the mechanism that selects
dissipatons out of all possible processes derived from a set of equilibrons and
associated thermodynamic forces, the selection being based on functions. Since
organisms are examples of dissipatons and since biology is the study of organisms,
Fig. 3.3 suggests a novel way of defining biology in relation to physics and
chemistry (which are widely acknowledged as the necessary conditions of life) as