Time's Arrow and Evolution / / Harold Francis Blum.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton Legacy Lib. eBook Package 1931-1979
• VerfasserIn: Blum, Harold Francis,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2015]; ©1951
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Series: Princeton Legacy Library ; 2077
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (252 p.)

In 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 inexorably channeled the course of evolution so that possibilities were already limited when life first emerged.Originally published in 1951.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- PREFACE -- CONTENTS -- I. PERSPECTIVES -- II. THE CHRONOLOGY OF EVOLUTION -- III. THE ENERGETICS AND KINETICS OF CHEMICAL REACTION -- IV. THE ORIGIN AND EARLY EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH -- V. LATER HISTORY OF THE EARTH -- VI. THE FITNESS OF THE ENVIRONMENT -- VII. THE ENERGETICS AND KINETICS OF LIVING SYSTEMS -- VIII. STRUCTURE AND ITS REPRODUCTION -- IX. STABILITY AND VARIABILITY -- X. THE ORIGIN OF LIFE -- XI. IRREVERSIBILITY AND DIRECTION IN EVOLUTION -- XII. SOME IMPLICATIONS -- XIII. ORDER, NEGENTROPY, AND EVOLUTION -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX