Negentropy, a term coined by physicist Erwin Schrödinger in his book "What is Life?" published in 1944, refers to the concept of negative entropy or "order" in a system. Entropy, a fundamental concept in thermodynamics, typically refers to the measure of disorder or randomness in a system. According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy tends to increase over time in isolated systems, leading to a progression towards thermodynamic equilibrium.
Negentropy, on the other hand, describes a decrease in entropy or an increase in order and organization within a system. In the context of living organisms, Schrödinger used the term negentropy to explain the apparent contradiction between the increase in order and complexity observed in living systems (contrary to the second law of thermodynamics) and the overall increase in entropy predicted by thermodynamics.
Schrödinger proposed that living organisms are able to maintain and even increase their order and complexity by extracting energy from their environment and using it to perform work, such as growth, reproduction, and maintaining internal organization. This process of extracting energy and creating order allows living systems to temporarily defy the tendency towards entropy and maintain a state far from thermodynamic equilibrium.
Negentropy, therefore, represents the capacity of living organisms to resist the natural tendency towards disorder and maintain a highly organized and functional state. It's important to note that while negentropy describes the order observed in living systems, it doesn't violate the laws of thermodynamics but rather highlights the unique ways in which living organisms interact with their environment to sustain themselves.
