ENERGY AND GROWTH








A Study in Thought

sa035



by





Marius Heuff

Chapter 1

Content

The energy to write, think and breathe.
The energy of lightning, hurricanes, and the sun.
Vagueness of the concept of energy.
The waste of energy in the dubious life-style of affluence.
Energy that is needed for basic maintenance, versus optional or "luxury-energy".
Energy-flow and energy-existence.
The force-fields behind the organic and inorganic worlds of matter.
A beautiful opportunity to formulate a coherent structure of thought and explanation.
Adaptations, and the art of manipulating an energy-source.
The colder habitats of man.
Winter and wood-heat.
Technologial break-throughs, and the break-through of wasteful energy consumption.

It takes energy to sit-down and write. It takes energy to decide how to open a paragraph or a new chapter, and, in addition to the psychological energy needed to concentrate, we are continuously spending physical energy as well. It takes energy to push a pen over the paper, to sit in a chair, even, to take a breath.

However, energy-expenditure is not limited to the world of the living organisation, because there are numerous events throughout the realm of non-living nature where energy is consumed, and, some of these processes are gigantic, indeed. Some energy-expenditures are so large, that these natural phenomena dwarf the energy-flow taking place through any of the living systems. We do not have to search far to see examples; look at the energy-flow in a flash of lightning, the eruption of a volcano, the great winter-storms, the tropical hurricanes, and, above all, look at the outpouring of radiant energy from the sun.

The phenomena that require or consume energy are so numerous, and, the whole idea of an energy-flow is so fundamental and pervasive in all we do, see, hear or are aware of, that we have some difficulties abstracting and generalising these pehnomena into manageable concepts. It is not easy to formulate the common denominators that characterise all these manifestations of a flow of energy. Most of us have a fairly clear idea about the various topics and concepts we talk about, but, such a clarity and precision is lacking whenever we talk about energy, and, not surprisingly, we notice, that a large variety of mental images comes to the fore, as soon as we use the word "energy".

In a world that is just beginning to develop some awareness about the enormous quanta of energy spent, and wasted, by a small, affluent fraction of mankind, energy has become a catch-phrase for conservationists, big-business interests and governments, and, we are referring, then, primarily, to the limited and increasingly more costly supplies of natural resources, such as fossil-fuels or petro-chemicals. We have come to rely, increasingly, on these fossil fuels to sustain an affluent life-style, but, this life-style is not representative for a healthy, prudent and just way of life. On the contrary, affluence has become a style of unnecessary consumption, which is, in essence, a harmful pre-occupation with a greatly increased flow of energy, whenever an abundant supply of energy has made such a pre-occupation possible, while, at the same time, large segments of humanity have not enough energy to fulfill their basic needs.

We all tend to channel far more energy through our systems than is strictly necessary. We like to indulge and over-eat as affluent consumers, and, if we look at all the energy we use for non-essential luxuries and possessions, we see, that the consumption of energy does not bear any relationship to our needs, but has become a symbol of competitive display, or, a mechanism to sooth frustrations.

In this imagery about the concepts of energy, we have combined the essential requirements of living systems to channel a certain amount of energy through their systems in order to stay alive, with a greatly enlarged flow of energy through a few affluent organisms, well in excess of what is needed for health, growth and reproduction. This is an example of the fact, that the word "energy" conjures-up widely divergent mental images, indicating its lack of precision, at least, in its common usage. Over-heated pockets of consumption are certainly not limited to human affluence, but reflect a general trend in the living organisation, and, increased levels of energy consumption always come to the fore, whenever conditions of existence have become remarkably "easy" for a prolonged period of time.

There is another dimension to the way human beings use energy, because the species of mankind has been able to increase its consumption of energy to a remarkable extent with the help of "technological innovations". In our modern times, the consumption of energy is not anymore exclusively a matter of taking-in food, because we are able to mass-produce all sorts of items with the help of energy that has been stored in the earth's crust by other living organisms over a time-span of many hundreds of millions of years.

We will try to outline the inter-relationships between a flow of energy and the many forms in which energy can be retained and has been stored; in the living as well as the non-living world. We will see, that a thorough analysis of the world of energy, and, in particular, the world of force-fields that lie behind the existence of an energy-gradient, will make it possible to look at the living and non-living organisations with a degree of clarity and cohesion, which would be impossible without the modern insights of the sciences and the principles of natural evolution.

This does not mean, that such a degree of clarity will necessarily be found in these pages, where I have made an attempt to formulate my understanding of this essential cohesion, but, I am referring to the possibility to come to a clear and coherent conception of the realities around us, because the numerous observations by scientifically schooled people in recent times have provided us with a rich treasury of mental images that lend themselves to be woven into a tapistry of broad understanding. The time seems to be right to make such a correlative effort, and, the circumstances seem to invite us to make a bold attempt to weave the entire conceptual fabric into a unit of understanding.

It takes energy to sit-down and write, and, we are thinking in such a statement, primarily, about the mental energy to concentrate and produce a stream of clear thoughts. It takes energy to overcome doubts and distractions, and, we need energy to make decisions, whenever many divergent thoughts are competing for a chance to be written-down. When we talk about the need to spend, at least, some energy, we emphasise, primarily, the concept, that all living organisms require a basic amount of energy in order to stay alive, and, we have discussed, on many occasions, this peculiar characteristic of all living systems; nl., the need to fight-off disintegration, or the forces of entropy and death.

In addition to the basic maintenance requirements for a living system, we see, that, most, if not all species' use-up much more energy than just the basic maintenance-energy. We see, how the human species has been able to enlarge its ecological niche, when it learned to provide itself with more abundant sources of food and better protection against the adverse forces of the environment.

Now, man is able to live under extremely harsh climatic conditions, because he has learned to build an adequate shelter and provide this shelter with insulation and a source of heat. At the same time, man has learned to increase the supply of food with the techniques of cultivation, selecting the most useful plants and animals, and, protecting those living organisms which have become an essential aid in his struggle to survive. Man has also learned to preserve food, whenever there is a temporary abundance, and, the techniques of preservation, cultivation and shelter have increased the range of existence possibilities for man to an extent we still fail to appreciate in a collective and conscious over-view of our way of life.

Everyone knows, that food is a source of energy, but, we should discuss, in detail, how food contributes to the sustenance of life, and, how a source of external heat is also an essential element in the struggle for survival, whenever we have to live in a cold climate or environment. With the techniques of shelter-building and food-storage, man has increased the extent of his "habitat" far beyond the range that was opened-up by the forces of natural selection and their physiological, adaptative mechanisms. As I sit here and write, I am aware that it is quite cold outside, because I live in a cold climate. It is winter, and, it takes therefore energy, not only, to write and think, but to keep myself warm and fed. The room I am working in has to be heated, and, this heat represents a form of energy that has to be acquired, stored and made available, in a suitable form, during the coldest months of the year.

Our house is heated by burning wood in a simple, draft-controled stove. The wood has to be cut, transported, stored and protected from the rain and snow. It has to be split and dried, before it can be used, and, only, when all these conditions have been met, is it possible during the cold winter months to have a reliable source of energy for heating our shelter.

During the winter, it is sometimes difficult, or, even, impossible to travel, because snow- or sleet-storms have made the roads impassible. Therefore, we have to store food and wood, preferable for a few weeks or months in advance. In addition to the wood for the stove, we use electricity to light the home, to run appliances and to cook. We have discussed, on previous occasions, the remarkable qualities of electrical energy, because it is so easily distributed and can be transformed into many different forms of energy, but, it is far more difficult and expensive to store electrical energy in significant quantities, compared to any other form of energy. Without the constant availability of some sort of energy, be it wood for heat, food for the body, or, electricity for a large variety of domestic functions, our life would be difficult, or, even, impossible, in these cold, Northern regions of the globe.

Let us look back, for a moment, to the beginnings of man's technological inventions. Man learned, first, to transform his own muscular energy into a form that was more suitable for a particular task. This led to the development of "tools". Tools are instruments that are capable of making the desired transition of the available muscle-energy to a form of energy, or the occurrence of an event, that is more specifically suited for the intended task or purpose. Lately, under the influence of a "technological revolution", man has learned to harnass a variety of energy-sources, primarily, from the fossil fuels. This energy is able to power devices and machines that can do a lot more work, at a much faster rate and at a more sustained pace, compared to human muscle power.

This development led to the manufacture of a large number of articles or "consumer goods", and, it also facilitated the harvesting and extraction of all sorts of terrestial resources, which are not really accessible without such mechanical devices. In particular, agriculture, mining, fishing and forestry would not be efficient enough to sustain large populations without these mechanised devices. We will discuss, in detail, the remarkable effects brought-about by such a revolution in technological mastery. These effects are important, not only, because man has become increasingly dependent upon the tools of modern technology, but, also, because of their significant impact on our terrestial environment. The technological revolution has made it possible for man to tap the terrestial resources so fast and efficiently, that the terrestial conditions are being changed, depleted and harmed, to an extent never seen before in the evolution of the living species', and these changes are creating a vast pool of largely harmful, toxic or noxious waste-products.

Man has learned to harnass energy-sources and other natural resources for everything; for making shelters and producing food, for travel and warfare, for pleasure, and, for the sake of exerting power and dominance. Man is using the availability of all sorts of energy and resources to live a life-style of affluence and abundance, which means, that, most of the consumption of these energies and resources are not required as basic necessities, not, even, as worthwhile attributes to a condition of health and well-being, but, they are unnecessary luxuries that are being pursued as a result of boredom and an increasingly out-moded and primitive display of social success. The affluence of spare time has been made possible by a substantial reduction in the time and effort needed to provide for the necessities of life, and, this has led to a "leisure industry", with a high level of energy-consumption for the sake of pleasure, recreation, and the need to occupy one's time.

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Chapter 2

Content

An obsession with consumption.
A review of planned discussions.
Fire, still not mastered completely.
A shift from physical to psychological exploitation.
The "energetic" aspects of hand-tools.
A detailed analysis of the reasons for using tools.
A variety of energy-transformations.
Flexible armour.
Crushing a skull.
Energy, as a product of mass and momentum.
The mechanisms of amplification.
A more formal definition of force, pressure and energy.
The knife and the ax.

We should discuss what it means, if people succumb to the temptation of affluence and speed-up the energy-flow by producing and consuming goods and services far beyond their basic needs. We will become aware of the wasteful use of energy and resources resulting from an affluent life-style, and, we will see, how a pre-occupation with the maintenance of such a "swollen river" of energy-consumption makes a society dull and sluggish in its perceptions. A society loses, then, the feel for necessary qualities, such as the ability to be lean and efficient; to be innovative and versatile; to make use of all opportunities of existence, and, to have the wisdom to organise society wisely; according to the intuitive recognition of the fact, that, everyone has to experience some sort of benefit from belonging to society.

However, let us first discuss the principles that lie behind the slow evolution of hand-tools, weapons and other objects of use. We have recently acquired a better insight into the circumstances of early human existence, and, we know, now, how important these tools were in the struggle for survival. We will see, how energy is transformed from a muscular contraction into a more specialised form of action by such tools. These tools are still used today and function, essentially, in the same manner.

We should also review the search for, and the discovery of, naturally occurring energy-sources, which had to be regulated and controled, before they could be used, and, we will see, how the taming of a natural energy-flow has always been, and still is, a somewhat hazardous undertaking. We will see, how fire was controled, and, how the energy-source of a fire became, later, a "fuel", and was tapped by such devices as the steam and internal combustion engines.

Recently, we have been experimenting with the "fire" or energy-flow from radio-active processes, where unstable atomic elements decay and fall-apart into more stable elements. However, we can not say with any degree of confidence, that we have controled and mastered all the aspects of this nuclear technology.

The human beings also exploited, often ruthlessly, the muscle power of other human beings, before the advent of the Industrial Revolution. This was a period when slavery was practiced widely, but, the exploitation of the human being was not abolished with the abolition of slavery and serfdom, after the rise of industrial machinery diminished the need for physical slavery, and the ideas of social equality began to make their influence felt.

The exploitation of the human being shifted, at least, in the industralised societies, to the exploitation of instinctive drives and emotional desires, in order to feed the huge appetite for money that is such a striking characteristic of large enterprises in a Capitalist society. The mechanisms of social inter-action in the Capitalist societies seem to shift, ever more openly, to the attitudes and practices of greed, cut-throat competition, and a nearly complete disregard for the well-being of those, who do not have the power to make their existential needs felt.

It is fair to say, that, in the Capitalist societies, slavery of the body has been replaced by an enslavement of the mind, leading to a severe degree of financial and social entrapment, where many people are forced to mortgage their earning-powers and energies for the next twenty-five years or so; if they want to "enjoy" or participate in the trappings of "social success". The massive momentum of a system with widespread economic slavery, together with the inertia of such a debt-ridden society and the impoverishment of the mind resulting from these practices, will form the subject for a separate essay on "money and inflation". Here, we will consider energy in its many forms, as well as the fields of force that lie behind the flow of energy through organic and in-organic systems.

Let us return to the simple tools and primitive weapons of early man. While we have discussed these developments on previous occasions, primarily, from an evolutionary point of view, we will concentrate, here, on the "energetic" aspects of these tools, and, we will try to emphasise throughout our discussion on energy and growth, why it is useful to abstract the common denominators of these ideas. We will see, that these common denominators tie the whole conceptual framework together into a vast network of intelligible and coherent relationships.

When early man discovered, that it was often easier to kill a prey, or his enemy, by picking-up a stone or a club, (such as a suitable branch or an animal bone), he transformed, unwittingly, and purely empirically, his muscular energy into a far more effective and powerful blow than he could possibly deliver with his fist or bare hands. Man also discovered, empirically, that he could divide or cut a tough structure, like the hide of an animal, if he used a scraped or fractured edge of a stone.

On the one hand, or, rather, on one side of the energy-equation, we have always a muscular action; a movement and a certain force, put-in by the muscle-power of man, and, at the other end of the hand-tool, we have a different force; a different movement, which is far more effective than the primary muscular force or movement of a limb. We know, now, how important these simple energy-transformations were for these early human beings, and, we know, now, why the skills of manipulating tools and weapons became, quickly, a decisive factor in the viability of an individual, as well as the small social unit he belonged to.

What, exactly, happens, when we pick-up a stick, or a club, and swing it forcefully against, e.g., the skull of our prey? We notice, that we can shatter the skull easily and, thereby, kill the animal almost instantly, while we can not do this with our bare hands, regardless, how hard we try. Suddenly, we have become far more powerful as a hunter, and, far more dangerous for our prey. We can obtain our food, now, with much less effort or danger, and, the survival ability of ourselves and our dependents has increased dramatically.

We know all this, but, what, exactly, is happening, when we analyse these events in terms of an energy-flow or energy-expenditure? The total amount of energy we can put into the blow of a club is not any more, than we can put into this blow with our fist, and, yet, the effect is far more devastating when we use a club.

First of all, there are certain limitations to the forces our fist can withstand, and, since a hard skull contains, often, stronger bones than our hand, we would smash our fist, long before we smash a skull. The simplest way to overcome this problem is to pick-up a stone or a club and let the object carry-out the impact with the skull, and, we see, indeed, that we can now smash a skull much easier. However, we should realise, that we have not just simply altered the area of impact. When we lift the stone or club high and let it come-down hard upon a skull, we see, that it makes a significant difference, whether the stone is very light or reasonably heavy. Usually, a heavier stone, (provided, that it can be lifted easily and grasped without difficulties), will be far more effective, since the momentum or inertia of the stone, given by our down-ward push and the gravitational pull of the earth, will give this stone a certain speed at the time it collides with the skull.

The energy with which the skull is hit, is a combination of the speed with which the stone was traveling at the moment of impact, and the mass or inertia of the stone. The higher the speed and the larger the mass of the stone, the more energy is packed into the collision with a skull. The very rapid deceleration of the stone at the moment of impact, means, that a great deal of energy-pressure is released over a short period of time, and, this energy-pressure is imparted to a relatively small impact area of the skull. This force may overcome the resilience or breaking strength of the bones of the skull. The skull fractures and caves-in, and, this allows the almost instantaneous destruction of the soft brain tissues underneath.

I realise, very well, that the terms "force, energy and pressure on impact" are all used somewhat loosely. Technically, the energy is locked into the product of speed and inertia, or mass, and, this energy has been imparted as a "momentum" to the stone; by heaving the stone high and then, assisting the pull of gravity on the down-ward stroke. It is important to realise, here, that muscular energy is imparted over a long period of time; first in the heaving movement, when the pull of gravity was overcome, and, secondly, on the down-ward stroke, when the gravitational energy was augmented by a muscular "push" or contraction.

At the time of impact, the stone is brought to a stand-still in a very short period of time, and this extremely rapid deceleration releases all the energy in a fraction of a second, while the build-up of the energy-content took place over several seconds. Here, we see a powerful amplification principle at work. A certain amount of energy is built-up by a sustained muscular effort, and released, almost instantaneously, at the moment of impact. This explains, why the pressure or force exerted on the skull by the small impact-area of the stone, far exceeds any value or pressure that could be exerted by the direct blow of a fist. In a blow with a fist, similar considerations apply, since the build-up period of the energy-content exceeds the far shorter deceleration time, but the forces which the tissues of the hand can withstand, place a severe limitation on the energy-content of the blow that can be delivered, unless the fist or hand has been trained and hardened to withstand these high deceleration forces.

The smaller the area of impact, the greater the local pressure, since pressure is defined as a force per unit of area. If the area becomes very small, all the energy of the blow is released upon this small area, and the pressures increase, therefore, remarkably. The pressure is, not only, inversely proportional to the area of impact, but, it is also inversely proportional to the period of time in which the traveling object is brought to a standstill on impact. In a very short deceleration-time, the displacement, or "giving-way" factor, becomes very small, and, the force has to be, therefore, correspondingly much larger in order to represent the total energy delivered to the area of impact. This is a more formal and more tightly reasoned argument of the reasons, why the pressure is so high at the site of impact.

We see both mechanisms at work, if we look at the action of an ax when splitting wood. We are heaving the ax above our head, and, we assist the acceleration of the ax-head on the down-ward stroke; the blade hits the wood on its cut-edge, because, as a rule, a block has been placed this way. The blade of the ax is reasonably sharp, meaning, that the surface area coming into contact with the wood is quite small. The pressure that is exerted by the edge of the ax reflects the deceleration energy released on impact, as well as the smallness of the surface area. The energy-content is the product of the rate of deceleration, or speed-reduction, of the ax-head and its mass.

The edge of the blade sinks into the wood, which prolongs the deceleration time, and is part of the "giving-way" factor. If the edge of the ax would not broaden quickly into the "shoulders", the ax would sink deeply into the wood. However, we are interested in splitting the wood, and, after the ax-blade has started a cut, the widening, wedge-shaped shoulders of the ax force the oposite halves of the block of wood away from each other. Therefore, the ax-head is shaped in such a way that a significant portion of the energy released on impact is used to force the wood apart.

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Chapter 3

Content

Deceleration-time, and the force of impact.
Absorbing a blow.
Splitting wood.
The control of fire.
The role of fire in extending man's habitat.
Hand-tools and cultural tools.
Learning to live together.
Energy as a quantum of work.
Force-fields.
Radiating and locked-up forms of energy.

We have discussed the fact, that the force upon an area of impact is inversely proportional to the deceleration time. The less time it takes for the object of impact to come to a halt, the stronger its impact will be. If the wood we want to split is soggy, full of sap or water, the deceleration time is long, and, consequently, the wood does not split well. The blow of the ax is, then, absorbed, and its effects are dissipated, just as we can minimise the impact of a blow by "giving way" into the direction of the blow. We prolong the time-period over which the energy-content is released, and, as a result, the impact pressures are lowered significantly.

If the wood is hard or the sap has been frozen, and, if the grain of the wood is not distorted by severe knot formation, a firm blow with a sharp but broad-shouldered ax will cause a high impact force, starting a cut that is quickly followed by the separating actions of the shoulders. The heavier the ax, the higher the energy-content we can impart to it by swinging the ax, but, we have to use more muscular energy to heave the ax and assist its downward course. A dull ax will have a broad area of impact and will, therefore, not sink sufficiently far into the wood for the shoulders to exert their splitting action. A sharp and slender ax will bury itself deep into the wood, without suffient lateral force. Then, the ax becomes trapped and is difficult to remove. If the steel is cold and brittle, or, if the ax-head strikes another metal object, it may easily chip. The ax does not work properly anymore, and its function becomes unsuited for the intended purpose.

Why did we dwell so long on the simple act of chopping wood? Apart from it being a healthy, enjoyable activity, it is a good example of the transformation of muscle-energy from a slow build-up of potential and kinetic energy into a high-impact force, often cutting and splitting material that would be impossible to cut or split otherwise. Energy is transformed from an input mode that is suitable to our muscular characteristics, to an output mode that is suitable to cut, split, lift or kill. This, in terms of energy-transformation is the essence of the usefulness of a tool.

When we use a club for the purpose of crushing a skull, we do not need a sharp cutting edge, since a localised pressure-area of sufficient force to cause a cave-in, is all we are interested in. If we want to cut meat or a hide, we do not need a lateral, splitting force, and a sharp edge from a knife-like object is sufficient to overcome the resistance to separation with ordinary muscle-power. Then, we can forego the amplification factor of swinging an ax or a club.

If we want to lift a heavy object over a short distance, we can apply a "lever". The muscular input is the energy imparted by a long stroke or displacement, effected by a relatively small force, and the output is a greater force over a shorter distance. Again, the total energy output of the device is not any larger than the energy put-in by our muscles, but, by providing a muscular input over a much longer distance, we can increase the output-force considerably, if we are willing to accept a much smaller "travel" or "displacement".

Energy is force, multiplied by travel or displacement, and, the force of displacement can be increased in a trade-off against a shorter range of movement. All this is basic mechanics we are all familiar with in an empirical sense, since most of us have forgotten the more formal concepts or mathematical relationships we learned in school. We only wanted to remind ourselves, with a review of the mechanisms of simple tools, how we transform, constantly, the energy-content or output from our muscular activities, and, how we bring this output into a form that is suited to the task or objective we want to accomplish. In many instances, the tasks we want to perform are completely impossible without the help of a simple hand-tool in order to bring such a transformation about.

Let us now turn our attention to the time, when man began to control and harnass the energy-flow of a naturally occurring event. Probably, the most important and earliest example is the control of fire. While man did not learn to use fire efficiently for the purpose of mechanical propulsion, until he invented the steam and internal combustion engines, fire was, nevertheless, an extremely important tool, because it increased man's viability considerably, once he learned, how to handle and control it.

Man became acutely aware of the need to control fire, when it became necessary to warm oneself in the colder regions of the earth. Man was continuously expanding his habitat, but the early phases of man's development were characterised by severe climatological upheavals, bringing-about remarkable changes in temperatures and living conditions. The advent of the "ice-ages" threatened man's existence over large areas of the globe, where man had already settled during the time that the climate was more congenial.

The occurrence of forest fires must have been an awesome experience, and, it would have shown man the enormous power and destructiveness of fire. It must, indeed, have been brave and curious individuals, who, looking from a distance at the smouldering remains of a forest fire, dared to approach and poke into a smouldering heap of coals. The warm glow would have caused a pleasurable and beneficial sensation, especially, on a chilly day, and, it must have dawned on man, that, somehow, fire could have a valuable effect as well.

Undoubtedly, it took many generations, before man was able to start a fire himself, or, preserve a fire by the judicious adding of sticks and branches. Later, the use of fire as a defense against animals, or a cold night, made it possible for people to exist at the edges of the snow-capped fields and mountains, and, as the extensive glaciation slowly receded at the end of an ice-age, man followed into the new territories that were opened-up by the retreating glaciers.

Again later, the roasting of roots, meats and other edibles must have added to the survival ability of these nomadic tribes, and, when they learned to make clay pottery and were able to carry glowing coals with them, the survival ability of man took another giant step forwards.

Slowly, man discovered a number of ways to start a fire, and, he learned to make use of the heat of the sun in a more deliberate manner. He started to build his shelter in such a way, that it would be warmed-up by the sunshine, while sheltering the occupants from cold, Northerly winds.

We will not try to retrace these pre-historic developments. We are only just beginning to formulate some ideas, how man's dependence upon a continuous availability of food, water and shelter, gradually transformed itself into an ever greater degree of independence, whenever man was able to use tools, manipulate and control fire, and learned to cultivate and preserve the resources that were available.

The domestication of plants and animals, as well as the use of more durable and efficient tools, were the forerunners of those remarkable explosions of culture and civilisation, which took place, in rapid succession, within the past ten thousand years of human history. It is very likely, that these momentous transformations in the life-style of most human beings took place because of rapidly rising populations, and, this, in turn, was a result of the marked increase in survival ability of the human species, because of an ever increasing arsenal of tools and knowledge.

As the members of mankind became more plentiful, the pressures of densely populated areas led to a fiercely competitive struggle amongst the small socially integrated groupings. The resources upon which these nomadic tribes depended, were dwindling rapidly and drove the tribes ever closer together. Inhabitable land was, now, always occupied by one tribe or another, and, territorial incursions were not tolerated lightly. Survival became, increasingly, a matter of security and strength, as well as a matter of organising the defense of a territory efficiently, with the help of a large number of able-bodied fighters.

The requirements of security dictated the development of more organised and efficient ways of living together, and, these requirements of security and organisation created their own momentum of cultural developments, such as rules and regulations for living together at close quarters, a greater conceptual precision of ideas and plans, as well as the art of recording inventories and events.

We enter now the period of recorded history, and, it is not difficult to visualise a never-ending competition for fertile lands, life-sustaining supplies of natural resources, strategic strong-holds, and good-quality weaponry, as well as other items that would influence, favourably, the ability to live and defend a community. As a result, ever larger social units developed and explored the techniques of communal warfare.

However, we will not dwell on these aspects, here, since we are concerned with the concepts of energy and energy-flow. We have, now, some idea, how vast the domain of energy-transformation really is, and, how important these mechanisms are for the exploration of our possibilities of survival. From now on, we will consider the more abstract and generalised ideas that lie behind the concepts of energy and its flow along a gradient.

Energy is a conceptual abstraction that can be measured, and, this concept implies the existence of a "quantum of energy", capable of doing a certain amount of work. If a stone with a certain weight is lifted to a certain height, then, the work done to lift this stone is a product of the mass or weight of the stone, and the distance it has been elevated. Similarly, the energy that has been added to the stone as "potentially kinetic energy" by the "work" of lifting it up, can be liberated, if the stone falls back to its original position and creates an impact on collision, or, if the energy is tapped, gradually, during its descent, like the weights of a clock.

Momentum multiplied by distance, represents, therefore, the basic concept of a quantum or quantity of energy, and, later, these classical ideas about energy became elaborated by the discovery of happenings and events in the sub-microscopic world of molecules, atoms and sub-atomic particles

We, modern man, picture, by and large, the physical realities within and around us with the help of these conceptual building blocks, where minute quanta of energy exist, either, in a radiant, electro-magnetic form, or, in a "locked-up", orbital or rotating form. These elementary particles, or quanta of energy, give rise to electrons, protons and neutrons, as well as atomic elements and multi-atomic conglomerates, such as molecules, together with their fluid, amorphous or crystalline aggregates.

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Chapter 4

Content

The basic concept of a field of force.
Matter, anti-matter and gravity.
Energy and growth; as the central theme of this essay.
Basic maintenance-energy to fight entropy or chaos.
Pressure differentials, and the concept of fluidity.
The pump.
The plumbing system.
Gravity.
The concept of a low internal resistance to existing force-fields..
Gravitational, chemical and electro-magnetic fields of force.
A cup full of water.
The slipperiness of water molecules.
Fluidity, and the way life is organised.
Evaporation.
Crystallisation.

Let us try to unravel some of the complex inter-relationships between the concepts of "force, distance, time, speed, momentum, mass, inertia, gravity, electro-static and electro-magnetic force-fields". We should also consider, to some extent, those lesser known forces that play such an important role in the cohesion of the atomic nucleus. There seem to be two types of intra-nuclear forces at work; the "strong" and the relatively "weak" nuclear forces. Their relationships to the force-fields of gravity and electro-magnetism are still nebulous; at least, in my understanding of these matters.

We have attempted to trace a rather audacious and speculative imagery about a possible relationship between all these forces in the essay "Oscillations", but, we will repeat some of the ideas, briefly, in this essay. After we have reviewed the evolution of inorganic matter, as well as the relationships between orbital and radiating energy-forms, we will discuss, in the remainder of this essay, the energy considerations that lie behind the evolution of living systems, but, we will focus our attention, specifically, upon the phenomena of energy and growth.

We will define growth, and see, how it applies to the world of inorganic matter and living systems alike. Growth and energy will be considered side by side, and, we will introduce the idea, that, cohesion in the living systems requires a constant, basic maintenance-energy; the energy of constraint; the energy to fight entropy, disorder and chaos, which is brought-about by the fact, that the living systems are essentially "fluid" in nature and do not have a crystalline structure to prevent them from reacting to all sorts of force-fields.

First, we go back to the world of force, energy, gravity and the evolution of inorganic matter. If we ask ourselves, where the wind finds its driving force as it blows through the fields or over the waters, we can answer this question, at least, to some extent, because we are all somewhat familiar with the fact, that the heat of the sun warms-up the land quicker than a large body of water. The air rises as it is being heated by the land underneath it, because a gas expands and becomes lighter when its temperature rises. In this way, a pressure-differential is created between warm and cool air. Since air has a very low internal resistance, it will yield to this pressure differential and it begins to flow from a high-pressure to a low-pressure area. Similar reasoning explains the flow of water in a river-bed or irrigation system, and, we can find many examples, where a pressure differential creates a flow or a movement of a gaseous or liquid substance.

Sometimes, such a pressure differential is created by a "pump". A closed system with a fluid or gaseous content becomes, then, a "circulatory" system, where the energy-content of the pump-action is dissipated in the flow of the fluid or gaseous contents around the confines of this system. A good example is the circulatory system of the larger animals, where the heart functions as a pump. We know, that such a pumping effort requires energy, and, the heart consists, therefore, of a number of chambers with powerful muscular walls. The anatomy of the heart is somewhat complicated, because it is, in fact, a double pump. In any circulatory system, we can find a source of energy that is responsible for creating a pressure differential. This "source" always spends some energy, if there is an actual flow or movement taking place along a presure-gradient. (The pressure-gradient is the slope of the pressure differential from high to low.)

If we look at the plumbing system of a dwelling, we see, that there is no flow of water through the pipes, if all the taps are closed. The water-pump does not start, and, if there is no leakage anywhere in the system, such a pressure differential may, in theory, last forever. The closed taps prevent the water from moving along a pressure differential, and, therefore, the system remains in a "steady state", and, no energy is being spent. The resistance of the taps is too high to be overcome by the pump pressures, unless one of the taps does not close properly.

A stable status-quo with an unchanging pressure-gradient is a common situation, because, often, the resistance to a pressure differential is greater than the forces creating the pressure-gradient. The situation remains, then, "as is". In the case of a home plumbing system with its own well and water-pump, water is trapped in a rigid pipe and reservoir, and its flow is prevented by closed taps. This is an artificially created situation, because it allows us the convenience of having a flow of water at our disposal, whenever we open one of the taps. Then, the pressure in the system diminishes, and, as soon as a critical drop in pressure has been reached, the pump will be activated by a pressure-sensitive switch and begins to pump more water into the system. It is obvious, that energy is required to drive the pump, and, this energy is, usually, supplied by a source of electrical power.

There are a great number of force-fields at work, not only, in our terrestial environment, but, throughout the Universe. We see, that all matter around us is subjected to a strange force that seems to pull each and every piece of matter always towards the center of the earth. This is the force of "gravity", and, let us acknowledge, here, that the nature of this gravitational force is still difficult to grasp in a logical and coherent manner.

Since the force of gravity is such a constant and predictable force, we learn to live with it from an early age. We live with it every moment of our lives, and, we do not feel a need to form a clear and logical mental imagery about the nature of this force, just because it is so famliar and predictable. Each particle of matter in our environment, including our own body, undergoes gravitational attraction according to its "weight". Actually, weight is the measurement of this gravitational force upon a piece of matter, and, because we have no problems measuring and manipulating the phenomenon of weight, we do not feel a great need to formulate a clear picture about the nature of the phenomenon of weight. (We have been able to equate the concepts of weight and inertia, at least, to some extent, but the reasoning is rather complex and not wholly satisfying, as we will see later in this discussion.)

All matter experiences the pull of gravity, depending upon the size of the masses that are attracting each other. On earth, the magnitude of the gravitational pull is determined by the size of the earth. All pieces of matter will "fall", or come closer, to the earth, whenever there is a chance to do so; whenever an object is picked-up and released from one's grip. Nevertheless, the behaviour of matter is quite different, depending upon the state it is in. There is a remarkable difference in behaviour between water, a gas, or a piece of rigid or solid material. A quantity of water, when released on a flat surface, will spread-out evenly, if the surface is smooth and "level", meaning, that it is precisely perpendicular to the pull of the gravitational force-field. However, water will accumulate in any hollow or depression, if the surface is slightly uneven, because, there, the water molecules can come somewhat closer to the earth's center. It responds to a gravitational gradient, whenever it flows down-hill into a hollow or a depression.

Water has such a low internal resistance to the force of gravitational attraction, that each water molecule can slide in relation to its neighbours, while "searching" for a point of stability in relation to the pull of gravity. Stability has been found, if a particle is trapped in such a way, that it is prevented from moving any closer to the center of the earth. This is the reason, why water has to be placed in a "container". The first layer of water particles to accumulate into a container will place themselves closest to the center of the earth and occupy, therefore, the bottom layer of the container. If this layer has been filled, the water molecules wil lie on top of each other, until they reach the rim of the container, and, we all know, how easily water slips out of this container, whenever its walls do not prevent water from sliding and slipping over the edge.

This tendency to slip to a lower position under the influence of the gravitational pull of the earth, is the reason why a pressure is exerted by the water particles on the wall of the container. As a result of the slipperiness of water molecules, we can be sure, that there are no further pressure differentials between the water molecules that are at rest in a container.

Let us imagine a cube with sides that measure ten centimeters. This cube is filled with water. The particles on the bottom have a layer of ten centimeter of water particles on top of them. This same pressure is exerted in all directions because of the slipperiness of the water particles. Therefore, the wall close to the bottom is also under ten centimeter of water pressure, while the pressure upon the wall gradually diminishes towards the atmospheric pressure at the top of the container.

We seem to dwell a long time upon such a well-known and obvious phenomenon, but, we will see, later, in the discussion about the organisation of living matter, how important the concept of fluidity and low internal resistance, really is. Let us assume, that we have now a reasonably clear idea, what fluidity, slipperiness, or a low internal resistance to a force-field, really means.

We see, that water can also become a solid that does not move in response to a gravitational gradient. This means, that the water molecules are not able to level-out under normal gravitational pressures, whenever the water molecules have arranged themselves into a crystalline lattice or ice-crystal. Any solid will behave in the same way, and, every piece of matter seeks a level of existence, where it can not follow the pull of the gravitational forces any further, but, as a rule, the internal relationships of the particles of a solid piece of matter are not changed by the gravitational pull. If we let a block of ice rest on a table, it will maintain its shape, as long as it does not melt. (In the process of melting, the rigid structure of solid or crystalline lattice changes, once again, into the slippery phase of water.)

If we bring water to the boiling point, the water molecules begin to separate completely from each other, and, they float as individual gas molecules in the atmosphere, until they encounter conditions of "over-crowding" and start to coalesce, again, as fine droplets of "mist", or clouds. Eventually, these fine water droplets may fuse into larger drops of water, which come increasingly under the influence of the gravitational pull, as their mass and weight increase, and, these larger water droplets drop then back to earth as "rain".

The change of a liquid into a gaseous state represents a process of "evaporation", which requires a great deal of energy, because the movements of individual molecules have to become energetic enough to escape the "surface-tension" of the layer of fluid they belong to. These molecules have to become "air-born" as a result of their kinetic energy, before they can become a molecule of gas.

Similarly, if water cools to the point that the molecules do not slide, fairly quickly, in relation to each other, these molecules have a tendency to become "locked" into a specific spatial pattern on account of forces that cause a mutual attraction between them. These forces act over a short distance and they only get a chance to "capture" the slippery water molecules, if they slide by each other very slowly. Water becomes, then organised, or solidified, as a crystal of ice.

If the kinetic energy or movement of water molecules exceeds a certain level, these molecules escape the crystallising forces that exist between them, and, they become, then, once again, suspended in a fluid or slippery state. All atomic elements are capable of existing in a solid state, a fluid state, or a gaseous state, but the average conditions on earth singles out water as the most abundant substance that exists, mostly, in a naturally fluid state. At the same time, water is easilly converted into an evaporated or gaseous state by the heat of the sun, and, alternatively, it changes easily into the crystalline state, whenever the temperature drops below freezing in the colder areas of the globe.

In summary; in the solid state, normal terrestial forces, including gravity, are not capable of changing the internal relationships between the molecules of most elements. In the fluid state, the molecules slide and slip easily under the gravitational pull, but, they still adhere to each other, and, in the gaseous state, all molecules float individually in the atmosphere or as a separately contained volume of gas.

.......

Chapter 5

Content

Chemical potentials.
Labile chemical compounds, and the need for continuous replenishment.
Comparisons with a rapid or waterfall.
Chemical fluidity.
The concept of a "vector".
Movement in a force-field, and the ability to carry-out work.
The need for "sensitivity".
Kinetic and potential energy; the pendulum of a clock.
The relationships between energy and growth.
Growth, paralleling energy accumulation.
Growth, paralleling energy consumption.
Growth, paralleling the rate of energy dissipation.
A number of examples; clouds, a pressure-cooker and ice-crystals.
Gravitational energy-dissipation, and the rivulets of water.
Growing into large river-systems.
Scouring a river-bed, and lowering the resistance to energy-dissipation.
The formation of "deltas" and "silt-bars".
Life, seen as a channel for the dissipation of solar energy, captured by electron-excitation.

Until now, we have reviewed basic principles of classical physics, and their importance lies in the realisation, that all matter is subjected to a variety of force-fields that are gravitational, thermal, as well as electro-static, electro-magnetic and electro-chemical in nature. Most molecules on earth do not react anymore to these force-fields. They remain in a static condition, because all reactions that could take place, have already done so.

If matter exists in a fluid state, it is able to react, internally, to a variety of force-fields. We may apply the principles of fluidity also to chemical force-fields, because substances that can react to an existing chemical potential, are "fluid" in relation to this particular field of force, and, it is logical, that all substances that could react, have already done so, and have come to rest in a stable state; the "end-product".

It is reasonable, therefore, to classify matter into two chemical categories. By far the majority of natural compounds exist in a state, where they can not react any further with other compounds in their environment, but, many of them could react, if a suitable substance would exist nearby. If such compounds are in contact with a substance they can react with, they would be in a constant state of flux. We have compared this situation to the flow of a fluid in a river-bed or rapid. As long as there is a continuous influx of water, the rapid maintains its existence, but its existence is, then, entirely dependent upon such a continuous influx of water.

Similarly, a biochemical product, or any chemical product that is capable of reacting to a chemical potential, has a "low internal resistence" to this particular force-field in its environment, and, its existence is, then, dependent upon a continuous replenishment of the substance, as it keeps reacting with, and changing into, a different chemical compound. This is the principle of "chemical fluidity"; a concept, which we have elaborated on several occasions, because it is so important for understanding the processes of the living organisation.

We are considering, here, in general terms, the effects of a force-field, and, we notice, that a force-field has, not only, a slope or a gradient, but, it also has a direction, or "vector". Any particle or object which is capable of sensing or being influenced by such a force-field, and, which is free to move, will start to move from a higher to a lower value or position. While moving, it is capable of carrying-out "work" or provide "energy".

A stone, falling or lowering, like the weights of a clock, can function as a source of energy and drive some sort of a mechanism. Similarly, an electron, moving along an electro-static potential difference or force-field, can do work, just as the flow of molecules as a liquid or a gas moving along a pressure-gradient is capable of performing work.

Here, the ideas of energy, force and movement are tied together. While the nature of a pressure-differential is fairly easy to grasp, (whenever we consider the flow of water in a river or a plumbing system), the nature of gavitational, electro-static, chemical or thermal force-fields is more difficult to comprehend. The effects of a force-field are the same, however, and, there must be "fluidity" or, a sensitivity to the force-field, as well as an ability to move, before it is possible to "extract energy" from the existing force-field.

A frozen water-pipe does not allow a flow of water, and can, therefore, not carry-out any work, such as turning the wheels of a turbine. Similarly, a solid piece of material, sensing internally a variety of gravitational stresses, can not provide a source of energy, unless some or all of its internal particles can move. If the weights of a clock can not move any further, e.g., when they rest on an obstacle or the floor, the clock will stop.

Here, we see, of course, the essence of the concept of "kinetic energy", and, this energy can be gradually, and reciprocally, transformed into "potential energy", as we see in the to and fro movements of the pendulum of a clock. The potential energy is the energy-content of a particle in relation to its height. The higher above the surface of rest, the longer its distance of travel under the gravitational pull, and the higher its potential energy-content.

Any particle can, therefore, possess a quantum of energy, related to its velocity and its position in a field of force, and, these energy considerations are completely independent from any specific type of force-field. They apply, therefore, equally well to chemical potentials, electro-static and electro-magnetic potentials, as well as other force-fields, such as those of the weak and strong nuclear forces.

Let us turn our attention, now, to a review of the concept of growth, before we consider thermal and chemical energy-potentials or energy-gradients more in detail. We see, that growth has also remained a somewhat vague concept, in particular, when we analyse the energy relationships taking place within a process of growth. We see, that growth can parallel a build-up of energy, but, growth may also take place as the energy-level is being lowered. Indeed,the concept that growth may be an expression of the rate at which energy is being dissipated, turns-out to be of crucial importance in understanding the essence of the processes of life.

However, the phenomenon of growth is not limited to the living systems, as we will see. We should consider these categories of growth more in detail. Growth may mean, simply, an augmentation or an increase in size or value, and, in such cases, the process of growth reflects or parallels the rate of energy investment. For example, the growth of a cloud in the sky is proportional to the amount of water that has evaporated, and this process of evaporation is directly proportional to the amount of sunlight that has been absorbed.

Certainly, there are other factors at work in this example, such as the cooling of water-vapour in the air, and, cloud formation is, actually, the beginning of a condensation process, where water-vapour transforms into fine water droplets. This process releases heat and dissipates energy. Perhaps, we should narrow the example to a more artificial or experimental situation. For example, in a pressure-cooker, we see, that the steam pressure grows in relation to the energy added in the form of heat. When air is being cooled by another, colder mass of air, water droplets form and release energy. Similarly, ice crystals form and "grow" in size, as the water loses more and more of its thermal energy. This means, that the phenomenon of growth can take place in the accumulation as well as the release of energy.

The phenomenon of growth as an indicator of energy-dissipation is represented, most clearly, by a system of water run-off; e.g., a river or a stream. Let us visualise a small hollow, or dent, in the surface of the ground. This dent is filled to the brim by a down-pour. The water starts to over-flow, and, we see a number of small rivulets emerge from this shallow basin. The moment a stream has developed, small grains of sand are washed-away and the flow starts to scour a pathway for itself, lowering the out-flow resistance for the water trapped in the dent. In a fairly soft-bottomed environment, there is, therefore, a marked tendency for a small rivulet to scour an ever-enlarging path for itself, as long as the stream of water exists, and, as long as the rivulet is able to increase in size, or "grow", by widening its pathway. It increases, thereby, the rate of energy-dissipation.

Gravitational energy is being dissipated by a river, stream, rapid or rivulet, and, the flow of water can move sand, stones, clay or other obstacles in its path. As the rate of energy-dissipation increases, the rivulet or stream grows in size, and, we also see, that a variety of small rivulets have a tendency to merge and build-up into a few, mighty rivers. There are several reasons for this process of growth or merging. The most common reason is the slope of the landscape, which funnels the waters, naturally, into the low-lying areas, outlining thereby natural watersheds or pre-determined boundaries between river-systems, but, the process of scouring by the water-flow itself also creates a gravitational potential, and, this rivulet will, therefore, attract water from its environment as it widens and deepens itself.

The flow broadens and slows-down markedly, whenever the river flows over a flat area. Sand, gravel and other debris get a chance to settle-down and build-up large obstructions or "silt-bars", which may start to change or alter the course of the river. When the river-bed is not anymore a clear-cut path of least resistance, the flow of water will start to wander and search for new channels of dissipation, leading to the characteristic wandering or meandering streams that give rise to a network of channels, known as a "delta". It is logical, that a delta forms, only, when the definition or clarity of the path of least resistance has become obscured by a nearly horizontal slope of the gravitational gradient, aggravated by obstructions and shifting deposits of mud and sand.

Growth, therefore, may be a mere augmentation of energy or an energy-potential, and, it may reflect the lowering of an energy-potential, such as the growth of water droplets or the formation of ice-crystals. Growth may also parallel or reflect a rate of energy-dissipation, as we saw in the phenomonon of the growth of a rapid or river-bed.

.......

Chapter 6

Content

Heat, electron configurations, electro-static potentials and chemical reactions.
The atomic model of matter.
An outline of contemporary ideas about atoms and sub-atomic particles.
The electro-magnetic ray or wave-front.
A bouncing "point-source" of static electricity.
Alternating electric and magnetic force-fields.
A phase-differential at right angles.
Stability, found in an alternating oscillation between magnetic and electric force-fields, as well as in a rapid, linear propagation or an orbital form of interlocking of an electro-magnetic quantum.
The spectrum of electro-magnetic wave-lengths.
The sense of vision, and the range of ultra-violet and infra-red radiation.
Concepts behind the existence of matter.
Elementary particles.
The usefulness of general principles, in spite of the absence of specific details.
Spinning dipoles and tripoles; the "quark".
A hypothetical elementary particle; contraction around one of the electro-magnetic fields of a photon.
The spinning point-source, and the magnetic lines of force, emanating from the poles of a spinning point-source.
Atoms, nuclei and electron clouds.
Protons and neutrons, alternating identities in an oscillatory meson-exchange.
The energy-content of rapidly rotating, matter-antimatter complexes.

We will leave the subject of growth, at least, for now, and return to other forms of existence or events in which energy can exist or be dissipated. We would like to discuss the phenomenon of the electron as a point-source of static electricity, as well as a standing or, rather, orbiting electro-magnetic wave-front. In addition, we should discuss the concepts of thermal agitation and chemical potentials. It seems reasonable to forego the historical development of these ideas. This would lead to a rather complicated review, since our concepts have undergone a remarkable transformation as a result of recent scientific insights and observations.

It is interesting to note, that many categories of phenomena, such as heat, electricity, chemical reactions and the general nature of matter and energy, have come-together in a beautifully coherent picture of the existence of "matter-energy". At the heart of this reality perception lies the imagery of the atomic model of matter, as well as the inter-change of matter and energy through transformations between "radiant" and "orbital", or rotating, energy-forms. The essence of this transformation seems to be the conversion of a "traveling" wave into a "standing" wave, and, vice versa.

We would like to begin with an outline of the scientific concepts that are now available about the atomic structure of matter, without going into the fascinating story of the scientific discoveries which preceded these concepts and ideas. This imagery has become an integral part of our scientific reality perceptions, but, let us make it clear, once again, that the imagery we have in our minds about the atomic and sub-atomic realities, is a mental or psychological product, and, it should not give us the illusion, that we have grasped this reality, once and for all. Neither should we expect to be free from puzzling observations, or vague details that do not seem to fit into our framework of understanding. The questions and inconsistencies that always arise, whenever we conduct a close scrutiny of our understanding, should make us aware of the essentially human and psychological nature of all knowledge.

As always, when re-tracing generally accepted scientific images, we will not try to treat any subject exhaustively, but, we will give a summary of the overall ideas, spiced, here and there, with a few speculative images of a more personal, and, undoubtedly, more controversial nature.

What sort of ideas and concepts do we have, now, about the nature of matter and energy, and, in particular, how do we visualise the inter-relationships between matter and energy? It seems fair to say, that the electro-magnetic ray, or wave-front, has become the fundamental corner-stone in our understanding of matter-energy. Nevertheless, we still run into conceptual difficulties, because we do not have a clear and comprehensive image of the essence and nature of an electro-magnetic vibration.

We know, that a point-source of static electricity, like an electron, bouncing rapidly between two different orbits around a nucleus, will spread a rapidly propagating disturbance with a frequency reflecting the frequency of this bouncing point-source of static electrical charge. The disturbance of the electro-static and electro-magnetic fields, caused by the bouncing electron, has characteristics that can be described as an alternating force-field with electro-static and magnetic components. These fields are rapidly waxing to a maximum, whenever the point-source is bouncing most vigorously in between its two stable orbits of existence, and, then, the disturbance quickly diminishes to zero, as the electron comes to rest in a more stable, lower orbit.

These two fields of electro-static and electro-magnetic disturbance, created by the bouncing electron, exist at right angles to each other, and they contain a quantum of energy within the oscillation taking place between these fields. This quantum of energy is the same energy, which the electron "lost", or dissipated, during its period of rapid bouncing, representing a vibration or oscillation between the higher and lower limits of stable orbital existence.

If we look at the individual "swings" of, e.g., the electro-static component of this composite, electro-magnetic field, we see, that the rate of change of the electro-static component induces a potential in the electro-magnetic field, situated at right angles to the electro-static field. Therefore, as the electro-static potential swings through the zero axis at its maximum rate of change, the magnetic potential reaches its peak value. Conversely, whenever the electro-static potential reaches its maximum value or deflection, its rate of change is nil, and, the value of the magnetic potential is nil and swings, then, through the zero axis at its maximum rate of change.

The energy-content of such a quantum of energy is contained in the inter-locking electro-static and electro-magnetic force-fields, and energy is represented by a mutual and alternating induction of a disturbance in either field. These fields of force are, in all probability, identical to each other, as long as the quantum of energy is exchanged rapidly between these two fields of force, and has not been locked-up into one of the fields, transforming this field into a point-source of electro-static charge, while the other field of force becomes an "empty line" of magnetic potential.

The crux of our understanding lies, indeed, in this continuous exchange, or oscillation, of an energy-quantum between a disturbance or vibration between two fields of electro-magnetic force. Together, they are often called an "electro-magnetic wave-front" and the package of vibrations, from the beginning to the end, is called a "wave-packet", a quantum of energy, or, a "photon".

Why the two fields of force exist at right angles to each other, is not clear, and, this fact is accepted as one of the fundamental, "given" constants of nature. The speed of the electro-magnetic wave-front is extremely fast, seen from "our" frame of reference of orbital or matter-energy, and, this speed of propagation seems to be an essential feature of an electro-magnetic wave-front in order to provide a measure of stability to the energy-quantum that is contained in such a wave-packet or photon.

A non-orbital, propagating, or traveling wave-front finds, therefore, its stability in an extremely rapid propagation, or "radiation", as well as in the alternating exchange and mutual induction of the electro-static and electro-magnetic force-fields, which are identical in this state of a propagating wave-front.

There is a very wide spectrum of electro-magnetic wave-fronts, ranging from very long wave-lengths, which are generally classified as radio-waves with a wave-length in the range of kilometers, down to wave-lengths with a fraction of an Angstrom, called cosmic rays. Radio-waves range from a wave-length of kilometers down to meters, and, when the wave-lengths of electro-magnetic disturbances are only centimenters in length, they come, gradually, into a range we call "radar waves" or "micro-waves". If the wave-lengths are still shorter, with ever faster frequencies, we enter the range of visible light and beyond, such as X-rays and cosmic rays or gamma rays.

The range of visible light of the electro-magnetic spectrum has become extremely important for living organisms, because most species' have developed special sense-organs to receive wave-fronts within the frequency range of visible light. These sense-organs represent, of course, the sense of vision, and, these frequencies have been selected by the forces of natural selection because of the fact, that electro-magnetic wave-fronts with frequencies of visible light are able to convey an extremely accurate, three-dimensional imagery of the surroundings.

However, visible light is bordered on either side by electro-magnetic wave-fronts that have not become the subject of sensory systems of the living organisation. Those, that fall on the side of the longer wave-lengths are called "infra-red", and, these wave-lengths can be sensed, in a very general way, by the organism, as "heat". At the other side of the spectrum of visible light, we see the frequencies of "ultra-violet", which are electro-magnetic waves with the capability to give us a sun-burn or a sun-tan. (As a reminder to those, who may have forgotten it; the red wave-lengths are in the lower range of the frequencies of visible light, while the violet waves represent the highest frequencies).

The range of electro-magnetic frequencies extends still further into ever shorter wave-lengths. The penetrating powers of these rays increase all the time, and, we enter, then, the spectrum of X-rays, which are well-known in the field of medical diagnosis. Even shorter waves are those called "gamma rays" and "cosmic rays". We also note that we tend to call these shorter wave-lengths "rays", rather than wave-fronts, because they resemble more a stream of particles than the propagation of wave-fronts. These very energetic and high-frequency electro-magnetic disturbances have remarkable powers of penetration, surviving travel over cosmic distances, because they are not easily absorbed as a result of their enormous powers of penetration.

It is important to see all these different phenomena, from radio-waves to cosmic rays, as essentially similar in nature. They only differ in the frequency of the electro-magnetic disturbance, as well as their powers of penetration. In addition, there is a subtle shift from a behaviour as a wave-front to that of a stream of elementary particles, as we transgress the range of electro-magnetic disturbances from the longer to the shorter wave-lengths. These concepts have clarified the understanding of our inorganic Universe to a remarkable extent, and, they have also laid the foundation for a variety of ingenious concepts, where the existence of radiant energy, represented by an electro-magnetic wave or disturbance, can be related to the existence of matter particles.

We have learned to see matter as extremely complex conglomerates of all sorts of elementary particles, where an enormous amount of energy is locked-up in oscillating or orbiting energy-forms. We still have no clear ideas about the initial steps in the formation of elementary particles, where a radiant energy-form, such as an electro-magnetic wave, or ray, becomes transformed into an orbiting or rotating form of energy. However, it seems certain, that such a process can take place, and, what is more, it seems certain, that the energy-quantum that is represented in the linear or near-linear propagation of the radiating electro-magnetic wave-front, becomes locked into an orbiting and oscillating form of existence as "matter".

Whatever the precise mechanisms are in which a primordial elementary particle may be formed, the elementary particles, once formed, transform themselves, rapidly, into more complex forms of existence, because the stability of these primordial elementary particles, as well as many of the secondary aggregates of matter particles, varies enormously.

We have postulated, that a grid of criss-crossing electro-magnetic waves exists at all points in space, throughout the Universe, and, we have speculated, how, occasionally, wave-fronts may lock into spinning dipoles, whenever fortuitous harmonies and energy relationships permit. These traveling wave-fronts lose, thereby, their enormous speed of propagation, but, the energy-quanta maintain stability in the speed of rotation or oscillation. These images are also covered by the idea, that a traveling wave-front can become a "standing wave", whenever its conditions of existence favour repeated reflections within a small area of space, such as a photon encircling an atomic nucleus as an electron.

We have speculated more extensively about the origins of elementary particles in the essay "Oscillations". We need a far more solid foundation for this sort of imagery, and, it is likely, that the images presented in the essay "Oscillations", will have to be modified extensively, as we learn more about the detailed mechanisms taking place in the transformations between radiant and orbiting forms of energy.

While we have no clear idea, as yet, how such transformations between radiant and rotating energy-forms take place, the idea, that such transformations are taking place, is, probably, beyond doubt. Let us therefore emphasise, here, the idea, that such transformations do take place, while acknowledgeing, that we are still in the dark, how, exactly, they come-about.

We have postulated a mechanism whereby two electro-magnetic wave-fronts may lock into a spinning dipole, but, we acknowledge, also, that we have no specific evidence that such a mechanism exists. It may well be, that the inter-locking is, actually, far more complex, like a spinning particle with three or more components. In the "quark theory", we seem to have, at least, some indication, that a tri-pole, inter-locking, orbiting or oscillating energy-quantum has been accepted as a useful scientific imagery.

Even an electron is, probably, a far more complex structure than we have visualised with the help of such a simple inter-locking mechanism. We have postulated, before, in the essay "Oscillations", that a point-source of electro-static charge could be formed, if an electro-magnetic wave-packet is visualised as "toppling", or contracting around one of its own fields of force. The "full" field of force would, then, assume the shape of a rapidly spinning ball and become an electro-static point source of charge, while the "empty" field of force would stretch-out as a line of magnetic field of force, running through the poles or axis of such a spinning point-source of static electric charge. Rather than postulating two essentially different fields or planes of force, we assume, that the "full" or "curled-up" field of force exhibits the properties of a spinning point-source of electro-static charge, while the "empty" field, without an energy-content, becomes the magnetic line of force.

As we have mentioned before, such an imagery of an electron as a single, curled-up photon, is, almost certainly, a marked over-simplification, and, we may safely assume, that the internal structure of an electron is more complex than the imagery conjured-up by a single electro-magnetic wave-front spinning around one of its own fields of force. However, such a simplified imagery may help us understand, why orbiting electrons, spinning around an atomic nucleus, seem to behave, at times, as point-sources of static electric charge, spinning around a magnetic axis, while they appear, under different circumstances of observation, as standing, wave-fronts of an electro-magnetic nature, oscillating within the confines of an orbit that has been defined by a number of physical characteristics, or "quantum numbers", reflecting the opposing force-fields of centrifugal inertia and centri-petal attraction between the negative electron and the positive nucleus.

The nucleus is a highly complex structure, which is only partially understood and visualised, but, essentially, it consists of varying combinations of neutrons and protons. The cohesive forces between these extremely dense structures is still a matter of active investigation and speculation, but, we seem to have developed an interesting scientific imagery, where a proton and a neutron are alternating their identity by the oscillatory exchange of a "meson".

There are forces at work in the cohesion of nuclear matter that far exceed the powers of electro-static or electro-magnetic attraction, and, the speculation may, eventually, turn into the direction of matter-antimatter complexes, where the forces of attraction are balanced by extremely rapid rotations. Here, enormous kinetic energies represent the entire energy-content of the particles themselves, because they would annihilate each other, if the kinetic or orbital energies would become insufficient to keep them apart.

We also remind ourselves, that we have been considering, here, the more complex atomic nuclei. The simplest atomic nucleus consists of a single proton, and, the proton is, almost certainly, a product of "outer space", while the more complex atomic nuclei have been forged within the interior of stars, with the help of a number of nuclear transformation reactions.

Therefore, the compexity of the larger nucleus is not necessarily reflected in the hydrogen atom, which consists of a single proton and a single, orbiting electron, in order to make the entire complex electro-statically neutral. However, it seems very likely, that, even, the single proton is already a complex aggregate of matter-antimatter particles that have been locked-up by various "strong" intra-nuclear force-fields, where the entire energy-content of the particle is reflected by the orbital momentum of these matter-antimatter particles.

.......

Chapter 7

Content

Particle creation and symmetry considerations.
The generation of an electro-magnetic wave.
The "excitation" of an electron orbit.
The "cork-screw" hypothesis.
Mirror-images.
Photons or "light particles".
Violent collisions and a mutual annihilation.
A matter of chance.
Images that are accepted by scientists.
Possible axes of attraction.
The concepts of mass and inertia.
The intra-stellar nuclear furnace.
Forging large complexes of protons and neutrons, "glued" together by mesons, and, resulting in a positive net charge.
The "clothing" of atomic nuclei with electrons orbiting in a number of shells.
Matter-antimatter complexes are part of the intra-nuclear structure.
The limitations of large matter-antimatter aggregates.
A summary of the evolution of atomic elements.
Chemical reactions are limited to the sharing of outer electron orbits.
Varying nuclear furnaces, and the concentric layering of nuclear transformations within large stars.
The layering of electrons around nuclei in "shells" with varying diameters.
Three categories of atomic elements; those with a full outer shell, with a nearly full shell, and those with a nearly empty shell.
The formation of ions and chemical bonds.

We should develop these images and ideas about matter and anti-matter a little further in detail. The concepts that let us postulate the existence of matter and anti-matter are based upon considerations of symmetry in the occurrence of natural events. Let us go back, for a moment, to the generation of an electro-magnetic disturbance. One of the most important developments in our understanding of the electro-magnetic phenomena took place, when we realised, that some of the electrons orbiting around an atomic nucleus in the outer orbit, could become "excited". This means, that they could absorb a quantum of energy, but, as a result, such an energetic electron would orbit the nucleus at a somewhat greater distance.

However, an excited electron could again "fall back" into its original orbit, if it would have a chance to "give-off" its excess energy. This energy could be given-off by a short but intense vibration of the electron, as it bounced between the two stable orbital pathways. During this vibration, or bouncing, between the two stable orbits, an electro-magnetic wave-front would be speeding away from the electron. This traveling electro-magnetic disturbance or wave-front would then "carry-away" the excess energy.

In essence, this electro-magnetic disturbance is similar to the one that resulted in giving the electron its extra energy; by knocking it out of its customary orbit, except for the fact, that the absorbed photon represents, we presume, a single unit of photonic energy, while the produced photon consists of a photon-anti-photon pair. This imagery is so important, because it shows us some of the fundamental mechanisms whereby matter and energy can inter-act.

Another extremely important manner in which an electro-magnetic disturbance can react with a particle of matter, is the absorption of a quantum of radiant energy by the particle as a whole, be it an atom, or a conglomerate of atoms; a molecule, or, a larger, macroscopic piece of matter. Then, the excess energy is not transferred to a specific part of the matter-complex, such as in the excitation of an outer electron, but, the absorption of energy results in an increased vibration, or agitation, of the entire complex. This is the mechanism of "heat", or temperature, and, the electro-magnetic disturbances that play a role in agitating a large molecular complex, (and, the electro-magnetic radiations that are also released by these agitations), have, as a rule, a larger wave-length, and, therefore, a lower frequency, compared to the photons absorbed, or given-off, by electrons.

We have described the electro-magnetic wave-front as a rapidly alternating force-field, oscillating between fields of electro-static and electro-magnetic force, situated at right angles to each other. Probably, we have to visualise, in addition, some sort of a "cork-screw" effect, which means, that the alternating excitation of these force-fields takes place in a specific direction of rotation, resulting in a helical transfer of energy. We can visualise this rotational component to be clockwise or anti-clockwise, when looking at a speeding photon from the front or the back, and, it may well be, that the wave-fronts, traveling in oposite directions, but generated at the same time during the dissipation of excess electron energy, are in all aspects identical to each other, except for their direction of travel. This means, that they are mirror images of each other with an opposite helicity or cork-screw rotation of their electro-magnetic oscillation, when viewed from the back or the front.

Similarly, all orbiting dipoles, tripoles and other complexes of oscillating energy-forms could rotate clockwise or anti-clockwise, because there is no reason to assume, that the rotational inter-locking of orbital complexes would always take place into the same direction. Elementary matter particles may all have mirror images floating around in space, just like the electro-magnetic wave-fronts, which are often called "photons", or "light particles", but, they do not have to be in the frequency range of visible light.

We know, what happens, when two tops, spinning in opposite directions, touch each other momentarily. There is a violent collision, and they repel each other, but, both tops are slowed-down, at least, to some extent, as the collision tends to neutralise the momentum of the spin of each top. Similarly, we visualise, that symmetrical elementary particles, or photons, if they happen to be involved in a head-on collision, will annihilate each other's possibilities of existence. The energy contained by these photons or elementary particles will then be transformed into a different state of existence.

If, for example, a photon and an anti-photon happen to collide, they neutralise each other's momentum and velocity of propagation, and, neither one can remain in a stable state as a photon. We visualise, then, that such a collision may be the beginning of the formation of elementary particles of some sort, where the energy-content of the photon and anti-photon is "carried-off" into a variety of elementary orbiting or oscillating energy-systems. Yet, the direction into which these complexes rotate will be a matter of chance, and may well be opposite to each other. If such particles and anti-particles collide again, their spin or momentum would be neutralised, once again, and the energy-content of both particles may then be transferred, again, to a pair of photon-antiphotons with an opposite corkscrew motion of mutual induction, or, rather, with an opposite direction of travel.

This is the basic imagery of matter-energy transformations which seems to have found, at least, a measure of acceptance amongst the scientific community. These are people, who abhor speculative mental images, unless they have fairly solid experimental evidence to back-up these images.

We should visualise the possibility, that a photon and anti-photon pair may come into a state of near-collision, if there is a mutual axis of attraction. The nature of such an axis of attraction is not clear, and there may well be a variety of forces at work, here, which could provide some sort of an axis of attraction between photons and particles with opposite characteristics. A near-collision may be sufficient to convert their linear momenta into a spinning dipole, without leading to mutual annihilation. The forces of attraction between matter and anti-matter particles would lead to a violent collision and mutual annihilation, unless these particles are kept apart by their angular momenta.

It is true, that we introduce, here, a concept of "mass" or "inertia" into these hypothetical particles, and, we are not sure, what this mass or inertia represents, because these concepts depend on the existence of the force of gravitational attraction. This force of gravitational attraction has not come to the fore, as yet, in the world of photons and sub-atomic particles. This is another indication, that we still have only a vague and sketchy mental imagery about the world of sub-atomic existence.

It seems likely, that the concept of a balance between angular momenta and mutual annihilation energies plays a role in the explanation of intra-nuclear force-fields. We know, now, that most, if not all the more complex atomic nuclei have been forged within gigantic stellar furnaces, where temperatures and pressures reach such crushing and disruptive proportions, that the internal resistance of nuclear particles to changes in configuration has been overcome.

Yet, in stead of merely reverting back into a flash of radiant electro-magnetic energy, the confinement within stellar interiors and the occurrence of unimaginable collisions and elementary particle-antiparticle configurations, seems to lead to conditions, where such particles are brought into a close enough physical relationship to explore new configurations; by fusing together into ever more complex and tightly packed units, or nuclei.

This, at least, is the way in which we visualise, how ever larger clusters of protons and neutrons were formed, and are still being formed in the large stellar furnaces. Later, when spewed-out into space as a result of gigantic stellar explosions, these nuclei became surrounded by clouds of electrons, giving rise to a large variety of elements, which have been incorporated into the inter-stellar dust-clouds from which our solar system was born.

We do not really know, why these nuclear complexes that have found a measure of stability after being spewed-out into space, always show a positive charge. This fact is probably related to the way protons and neutrons are "glued" together. There is no reason to believe, that mirror images would not occur, and, it is possible that there are atomic nuclei with a negative charge, and these would then be surrounded by a cloud of positive "electrons" or positrons.

However, matter-antimatter complexes of such a large size could not exist side by side, because it would, probably, be physically impossible to "bind" them into energetically rotating complexes, where the angular momentum would represent the totality of their energy-content. As we have seen, these mechanisms seem to occur, on a much smaller scale, within the interior of protons and neutrons, and, perhaps, within some of the smaller sub-atomic particles as well.

Therefore, matter-antimatter complexes can only exist side by side, if they are locked into extremely rapid and powerful orbital complexes, and, this form of stability becomes impossible, if we consider such large objects as a proton or neutron. Matter and anti-matter complexes of a very large size, (if they do exist), could be the cause of those gigantic galactic explosions, where energy outbursts occur on a scale that is difficult to explain on the basis of more conventional theories of stellar explosions. It may be, that those gigantic outbursts, called "super-novae", are related to matter-antimatter annihilations, whereby entire galactic nuclei with a large number of neutron stars and "black holes", eventually, explode and radiate a large portion of their energies back into space.

In summary, it seems certain, that most, if not all the atomic elements we know on earth, have been forged by stellar nuclear furnaces, long before the birth of the earth and the solar system. The early gigantic stars of our galaxy, which happened to develop in the area of space that is now occupied by our contemporary solar system, have left a large amount of debris that became incorporated into the inster-stellar dust clouds from which, later, our solar system arose. We also know, that, in the nuclei of all atomic elements, enormously powerful intra-nuclear forces are at work, which prevent the disintegration of these tightly packed nuclear structures. Certain elements, especially, those with numerous protons and neutrons, may disintegrate spontaneously, and, these nuclei represent the naturally occurring radio-active elements, which we find on earth. The binding forces that keep the intra-nuclear particles, or nucleons, together, involve, almost certainly, complex, matter-antimatter, rotating complexes.

The nuclei of atoms do not play a role in chemical combinations and reactions that can take place between atoms, or nuclei clothed with electrons. Chemical reactions are characterised by the sharing of outer electron-bonds, or pathways, and, in order to elucidate these processes from an atomic point of view, we will have to consider the balance between the positive charge of the nucleus and the neutralising charge of the cloud of encircling, negative electrons.

We postulate, that there are many "shells" of nuclear fires in the very large stars. These fires are hotter and denser towards the center, and we visualise that a variety of different elements are forged in these concentric shells of nuclear transformations. The lighter atoms are fabricated in the outer shells of these stellar interiors, and the heavier elements in those zones, where the pressures and temperatures are increasingly higher. We know, that the larger atomic nuclei contain a large number of protons and neutrons, and, it seems, that those elements that bring-about the cohesion between neutrons and protons, are oscillating "mesons", which are particles with a negative charge. They appear to be much heavier or more densely packed than an electron, and, it is, therefore, likely, that, even, the meson is a particle made-up of rotating matter-antimatter complexes, unlike the electron.

Most gigantic stars are unstable and explode for reasons not quite known, and, many of these atomic elements are then spewed-out into space, where they cool-off rapidly. Of course, we, on earth, know only those elements that survived such an ordeal, and, undoubtedly, many elements with a somewhat unstable structure have disappeared. We assume, that, after their expulsion into space, the "bare nuclei" were clothed with various layers of electrons, rendering the complex of nucleus and electrons, the atomic element, electrically neutral.

However, the number of electrons needed to neutralise the positive charge of the nucleus varies, and, sometimes, there are a few electrons that circle, somewhat forlorn, in the outer reaches of an atomic orbit, and, sometimes, there is just not enough positive charge to fill the outer shells completely. It seems logical to assume, that the full electron shell has a certain predilection of existence, and, therefore, those atomic nuclei with a few "extra" electrons in their other shell, have a tendency to let them go, while those, who miss a few electrons in their outer shell, have a tendency to attract a few extra electrons.

These tendencies play an important role in explaining the chemical properties of atomic elements. An atomic element with a full shell will show little inclination to react with other substances, and, it is, therefore, "chemically inert". Those, that are inclined to give-off a few electrons, are likely to react with those that are eager to accept a few electrons. These tendencies translate into a variety of chemical bonds or force-fields.

In a watery environment, there is a tendency for atoms to "float" with their electron shells full, but, reflecting a surplus or shortage of electrons, these elements exhibit now a "charge"; either negative, when there are too many electrons, or positive, when there are too few electrons in relation to the charge of the nucleus. These floating "full shell" atoms with an electrical charge are called "ions", and, in an environment where these atomic elements are not likely to become ions, the tendency to give-off or absorb electrons is reflected in the willingness to share electrons in a common bond or pathway. This is a proper chemical bond, which is, often, quite strong.

.......

Chapter 8

Content

Atomic elements that are sharing electron orbits.
Most matter on earth exists in "molecular form", where atomic elements have shared, to some extent, their outer electrons with similar or dissimilar elements.
Chemical stability.
The resistance to chemical bonding.
The tendency for chemical reactions to "flow" to their lowest possible energy-potential.
The liberation of energy as an electro-magnetic wave-front; heat.
Heat represents a wide range or spectrum of electro-magnetic wave-fronts.
Explosive reactions.
The burning of wood; exothermic reactions with an initial barrier.
Chemical reactions that require continuously an influx of energy.
Photo-synthesis; the build-up of an energy-reservoir.
Molecular complexity, or growth in size, paralleling a build-up in energy-content.
A review of the concept of gravity.
A review of intra-nuclear force-fields.
Somewhat unsatisfactory images from the theory of "general relativity".
Curved space-time, and the "dent" caused by the presence of matter.

What happens, when two different atomic elements come into close contact with each other? One of them has only one or two electrons in its outer shell and likes to "give them away", while the other element has an outer shell that lacks one or two electrons before it is "filled-up". There will be a tendency for the "extra" electrons to slide into the outer shell of the element that lacks electrons. In a liquid environment, these elements may, then, float as a positive and a negative ion in close association with each other, but, in a non-liquid environment, the "extra" electrons of one element may start to orbit around both elements, fulfilling, at least, to some extent, the natural inclinations of each element, while preserving electrical neutrality for the complex as a whole.

In the case of electron-path sharing, we have a true chemical bond, rather than an electro-static attraction between a positive and a negative ion, and, we can safely state, that all chemical reactions are based upon this principle of sharing some of the electrons that orbit in the outer regions of atomic elements. Atomic nuclei do not play a role in chemical bonds; only the outer electrons. Because many elements have been bonded together, either with similar or dissimilar atomic elements, most of the matter particles occurring under natural circumstances on earth, are composed of "molecules". These are complex and, usually, quite stable combinations of various elements.

Water, e.g., is a combination of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, and, even, the oxygen we breathe with every breath is a complex molecule, formed by two oxygen atoms, bonded together by shared electron bonds.

Here, we have the essential difference between an atomic element and a molecule, and, we emphasise, once again, that all molecular complexes are held together by chemical bonds. Each particular arrangement depends upon the characteristics of the elements involved, and, often, especially, in the highly complex, biochemical molecular structures, these characteristics include stereoscopic or spatial features, as well as other physical and electrical properties.

A chemical bond may occur between two elements without any significant change in the energy-level of the components, but, as we have discussed before, all chemical reactions that would take place easily, (given the physical conditions of the environment in which they exist), would already have taken place. Therefore, if we want to initiate a chemical reaction, we will have to overcome a certain "resistance" or barrier; e.g., we may have to increase the temperature of the participating components in order to facilitate the initiation of such a reaction, or, we will have to bring-together two substances that are "eager" to react with each other and do not exist, therefore, side by side in a natural environment.

If we want to demonstrate a particular chemical affinity, (which is a reaction that occurs spontaneously on contact), we will, often, have to purify the reactive substances, and, we will have to separate them first, before we can demonstrate their affinity to react with each other. Therefore, we will have to spend energy first, by separating, purifying or heating the reactive substances, and, on contact, as the reaction takes place, a certain amount of energy is liberated, mostly as heat.

What happens, when energy is liberated? If we bring two elements into contact with each other, which are eager to share electron paths, it means, that the electrons can "flow" into an "easier" orbit, with a lower level of potential energy, and, they "slide downhill", so to speak, into a common orbit. This "eagerness" is, therefore, nothing else, but the flow of an electron under the influence of a force-field, and, a certain amount of energy has to be dissipated by this change in the energy-content of an electron.

If we have two containers with water, one higher than the other, and, if we provide a path for the water to flow from the higher container into the lower one, water will flow through this pathway or pipe, until the energy-level of the water is equal in both containers. Similarly, electrons will flow into orbits that have the lowest possible energy-level, as long as there is a suitable pathway for them to do so. During this electron-flow, energy is "liberated" and has to be dissipated or absorbed, in one way or another.

Let us go back to an imagery we have discussed before. We have seen, how an electron "vibrates" between two shells, or pathways, whenever it falls-back into its original orbit after having been "excited" by the absorption of a suitable quantum of photonic energy. Similarly, the electron-path adjustment in a chemical reaction is associated with the dissipation of energy in the form of an electro-magnetic wave-front. Usually, this electro-magnetic wave-front is not in the range of visible light, but in the range of infra-red, or "heat". The heat-energy is then absorbed by the reacting substances as an incease in their temperature. The whole molecular structure is, therefore, shaken into a state of great agitation, if a chemical reaction or an electron-path sharing occurs with the liberation and dissipation of a significant amount of energy.

Sometimes, this liberation of energy is extremely rapid, as with "explosives", where the mixture of chemicals is so rapidly converted into a hot, expanding gas, that enormous pressures are built-up, sufficient to drive a bullet at a high velocity from the barrel of a rifle or gun. A chemical reaction that liberates energy is an "exo-thermic" reaction, but there are also reactions that require a continuous influx of energy. These are "synthesising", or endo-thermic reactions, with a build-up in energy-content.

There are chemical reactions that liberate energy, but require, initially, energy to get started. This is the case when pieces of wood, and other combustible materials, are "burned", because an initial threshold has to be overcome, before combustion or burning takes place. If it would not be necessary to overcome an initial threshold, wood could not exist in a natural state, as it is surrounded by an atmosphere that contains oxygen. When the wood has started to burn, large quantities of heat are liberated, and, the reaction becomes, therefore, "self-sustaining", until the supply of combustible material, or the oxygen in the atmosphere, has run-out. The reaction also stops, whenever the temperature drops below a certain threshold level.

Reactions requiring a large amount of energy are called "endo-thermic" reactions. For example, the separation of oxygen and hydrogen from water molecules, requires a constant and continuous influx of electrical energy in a process called "electrolysis". If oxygen and hydrogen are mixed, a combustible, even explosive mixture results, which can liberate enormous quantities of energy, mostly in the form of heat, but, under suitable conditions, this reaction can be used to generate electricity and make water.

One of the most interesting aspects of chemical reactions is represented by the fact, that, a complex molecular structure can be built-up or synthesised with the help of a driving source of energy, such as the light of the sun. The chloro-plasts of a plant can, as a result of a long, natural experiment with possibilities of existence, build-up stable compounds, like carbo-hydrates, or sugars and starches. They can do this by synthesising these compounds from the basic raw materials of carbon-dioxide and water, provided, that the chloroplast has an ample supply of solar energy. This process, photo-synthesis, is one of the most important achievements of the pre-cellular, biochemical evolution of the protoplasmic primordium, and, it is an example, where the energy of sunlight can be stored in a chemical product.

This synthesised product, such as a carbo-hydrate, can be used again by a reverse process, where energy is liberated during the break-down of carbo-hydrates in order to power numerous reactions in the biochemical machinery of a cell. We will not discuss these mechanisms in detail, but we are mentioning the chemical process of photo-synthesis as an example of an endo-thermic, chemical reaction, which requires energy, and, whose function is to store energy in a form that is easily accessible for the living organisation. This type of molecular synthesis is a good example of growth, where the increase in size and complexity of molecules runs parallel to the accumulation of an energy-content.

Before we come back to the topics of biochemical evolution, as well as the sources of energy and building-blocks involved in the organisation of living systems, we will first review one of the most difficult of all concepts; gravity. We know, that, all particles of matter, including all forms of existence with orbital or rotational energies, show a slowly cumulative effect of mutual attraction. The magnitude of this mutually attractive force is entirely proportional to the combined mass of the matter particles attracting each other, and, this force of attraction seems to be completely different from any of the electro-magnetic and electro-static force-fields that play a role in atomic and sub-atomic events. We see, that the force of gravity is so small at the atomic and sub-atomic level, that it does not seem to play any role in the bonding of sub-atomic particles and atomic elements.

The strong and weak intra-nuclear forces also seem to be different from electro-static and electro-magnetic force-fields, but, there seems to be some evidence that the nuclear forces and those of electro-magnetism can be "tied together". It appears, that the quark theory visualises a sort of rotational inter-locking of particles and anti-particles. Similar matter-antimatter structures may play a role in the interior configuration of a proton or neutron, and, even, the meson, a much lighter particle, may be composed of matter-antimatter complexes with a net negative charge.

Another indication of the high energy-levels within the particles that make-up the nucleus, is the concept, that the whole nucleus is constantly changing shape, indicating a constant movement of these particles, or "nucleons", as they are circling around each other. It seems reasonable, therefore, to conclude, that the nucleus is composed of extremely energetic and very densely packed orbital systems, made-up of rapidly rotating elementary particles, representing inter-locking electro-magnetic complexes.

We do not know what gravity is, and, we do not really have a coherent thought structure that can function as a suitable "working hypothesis". In the general theory of relativity, the concepts of mass and inertia have been equated, but, this has led to rather cramped and unimaginable relationships between "time" and the "curvature of space", where the presence of matter is "visualised" as causing a "dent" in space. This dent results in a "natural" tendency for mass to "gravitate" together, just like a heavy marble, lying on a smooth but flexible surface, will create a dent. The sloping slides from this dent represent a gravitational gradient along which other heavy marbles will tend to roll, aggravating the dent, until they all lie closely together in a dent of ever enlarging proportions. This dent, therefore, becomes deeper, and, it extends further into the surrounding space, as the mass of the marbles in the center becomes larger and larger.

.......

Chapter 9

Content

Using the same imagery, but with a different set of "explanatory connections".
Another look at "empty space".
The electro-magnetic "grid".
Temperature; electro-magnetic agitation throughout space.
Various forms of inter-action between matter and radiant energy.
Heat, in contrast with the excitation of electrons in an outer orbit.
A hypothesis of the phenomenon of gravitation.
Photo-spectroscopy.
The concept of "friction" between orbital and radiant energy forms.
The hypothesis, that orbital or locked-up energy-forms may require the constant absorption of a minute amount of radiant energy in order to remain stable.
The concept of a random dissipation of frictional energy.
The creation of a "trough", or "funnel", as "grid-energy" is being absorbed by matter.
The shift from an unexplained attractive force, situated in matter, to an unexplained pressure upon matter from the surrounding space.
Gravitational attraction between the matter particles in inter-stellar dust clouds.
The formation of stars; the sun.
The accidental circumstances of terrestial existence, and their relationships to the possibilities of existence for the organisations of life.

The imagery of a dent in space in association with the presence of matter is a useful one, and, it seems to describe what is happening to matter as it floats around in space, but the concept that space becomes "curved" as a result of the presence of matter seems, to me, rather unappealing, because it does not explain anything. It would only confirm the presence of the force of gravitation as a fundamental, given constant of nature. We have already accepted the electro-magnetic disturbance as such a given constant, and, we have a natural reluctance to admit to another, unrelated constant. Let us see, whether or not it is possible to use essentially the same imagery of a "dent" in space, caused by the presence of matter-energy, while "explaining" the force of gravitation with a different set of mechanisms, which may, perhaps, be somewhat more attractive.

It is worthwhile to look, once again, at the concept of "empty space". By this, we mean, those areas of space, which are not occupied or frequented by floating matter-particles, no matter how small or elemental these orbiting forms of energy may be. It becomes obvious for anyone who thinks about it, that there may not be any orbiting or matter-forms of energy in any particular area of space, but, there must exist, at least, a vast "network", or grid, of criss-crossing electro-magnetic wave-fronts. If we look at the myriad of point-sources of light in the sky, we know, that we can see, from any point in space, literally hundreds of millions of stars, and, if we consider the entire known spectrum of electro-magnetic disturbances, this grid, existing at every imaginable point in space, becomes even much larger, or "thicker". As a matter of fact, we have no idea, whether or not we have identified all existing electro-magnetic wave-forms, and, there may be many more, but still unknown forms of energy that have found a measure of stability in a rapid, linear or near-linear form of propagation.

Let us look, again, at the inter-actions that take place between radiant and orbital forms of energy. We know, that all matter in space has a certain temperature, even, if it is only a few degrees above the absolute point of zero degrees Kelvin. The point we want to make, here, is the fact, that, there is enough radiant energy of a thermal nature to agitate all orbital forms of energy to a temperature of a few degrees Kelvin.

In thermal agitation, the entire complex of matter is in motion, and the temperature is a measure of the energy that is represented in the to and fro motion of the entire complex of matter-energy. We also know, how electro-magnetic waves may "excite" certain electrons in their outer nuclear orbits, and, how such absorbed energy may, again, be dissipated as an electro-magnetic wave-front. As we have mentioned before, we have learned to use the technique of "photo-spectroscopy" to identify the existence of many elements and molecules in outer space. A specific element, or molecule, may absorb only certain frequencies, under suitable conditions of illumination, and, if the light is analysed, after it has been refracted through a prism, characteristic frequencies will be missing, after the light has traveled through a gaseous mass, or "nebula", containing atomic elements or molecules that absorb specific "lines" of the spectrum of light. Similarly, "excited" electrons may fall back into their original orbits, giving-off electro-magnetic radiation with a characteristic wave-length, identifying a particular substance.

Here, we have two important ways in which electro-magnetic radiation and matter inter-act; thermal agitation of the entire matter-energy complex, and the excitation of specific electrons. All matter is agitated, randomly, by thermal radiations, and, if an object has a higher thermal energy than its surroundings, it will cool-off, slowly, to the level of the prevailing temperature, and, vice versa, of course. Cooling means, that the piece of matter dissipates electro-magnetic radiation in the "heat spectrum", as a mechanism of electro-magnetic "friction" between the matter-energy complex and the surrounding electro-magnetic wave-fronts slows-down the oscillations of matter particles. Eventually, an equilibrium will re-establish itself, where a matter particle absorbs as much electro-magnetic radiation as it gives-off.

These considerations may provide us with a bold, but speculative, imagery of the nature of gravity. We know, that the thermal oscillations of orbital energy-forms absorb and give-off, continuously, some electro-magnetic radiation. If there would be a total absence of thermal radiation energy, the oscillations of matter particles would slowly wind-down to a complete stand-still. Therefore, there seems to exist a certain degree of "friction" between the orbital energy particles and the radiant electro-magnetic wave-fronts of space. Perhaps, this same principle of "friction" or "drag" plays also a role in maintaining the momentum of the orbiting energy complexes, inside the matter particles.

Is it possible, and reasonable, to postulate, that these rapidly orbiting energy-quanta, (whose origins reveal, clearly, an electro-magnetic nature), also require a constant absorption of a certain amount of energy in order to maintain their stability? Is it possible, that their rotation in space gives-off some sort of a "dissipation radiation" because of a mechanism of drag, or friction, between an orbiting energy-form and the ubiquitous presence of electro-magnetic wave-fronts? It may well be, that these spinning, orbital energy-forms require a constant, if minute, absorption of a certain quantum of energy in order to keep spinning at a stable frequency. Similarly, while spinning, the non-specific "drag" or friction for these spinning orbital matter complexes may dissipate a slow, random type of electro-magnetic disturbance, which becomes quickly integrated with this enormously complex and "thick" electro-magnetic grid that is present, everywhere, in space.

If such speculative imagery would be somewhat valid, we may, then, visualise, what would happen, if all matter, in direct proportion to their mass or quantity, would absorb, continuously, a stream of some sort of electro-magnetic radiation. We have to postulate, that there is an inexhausible supply of such radiation energy. We also postulate, that the energy absorbed is of a rather specific nature, because we are dealing, after all, with a limited number of elementary particles, which build-up the entire realm of matter-energy.

We see, then, that a matter particle will create a "funnel" or a "dent" in the surrounding electro-magnetic grid of space. This funnel or dent is caused by a localised lowering of the pressure-gradient of this particular energy-form that is needed to keep an elementary, orbiting complex from decaying. We also have to assume an equally constant effusion of a different type of "friction radiation" emanating from all matter, which is, perhaps, intricately interwoven with the spectrum of thermal radiation.

Of course, this imagery is completely speculative, and, we are shifting the emphasis from an unexplained attractive force, centered, somehow, in the existence of matter, to the existence of an unexplained pressure, exerted upon matter by a surrounding electro-magnetic grid. Nevertheless, such an imagery does fit well with the observed nature of the gravitational force, and, it does conform, rather well, with the relativistic image of a "dent" in the space-time continuum, exerted by the presence of matter.

Let us look, again, at the way matter slowly "falls-together" in inter-stellar dust clouds. These clouds include elementary particles that have formed in space, and, the inter-stellar dust cloud may also have been enriched by much larger atomic elements that have been spewed-out from previously existing, gigantic stars, after they exploded. Larger and larger aggregates of matter accumulate, with ever rising pressures and temperatures, and, this leads, eventually, to the formation of a "nuclear furnace", where a variety of natural elements are being forged at a prodigious rate.

Our sun represents such a nuclear furnace, or star. It is a small stellar body, with only one kind of nuclear fire, (so far as we know), where hydrogen is fused into helium. Because of its relatively small mass, the development of the sun was slow, and, therefore, it will exist for a long time in essentially the same condition. As a result of the stable nature of our sun, the earth has been bathed in a more or less even glow of electro-magnetic radiation since its early beginnings.

From the peripheral layers of the dust-clouds that gave rise to our solar system, several "concretisations" took place. These became the planets. None of the planets was massive enough to start nuclear fires on their own. As we mentioned, the inter-stellar dust-clouds that gave rise to our solar system have been enriched by copious amounts of debris from previous stellar formations, since there are numerous heavy elements on earth. These heavy atomic elements must have been formed in a nuclear furnace, a long time ago. The accidental circumstances of the earth's size, the happenstance of its distance from the sun, as well as the occurrence of many heavy elements in the cloud that gave birth to the solar system, lie behind the circumstances in which the early earth found itself.

We are fairly certain, that the original atmosphere of light gases, (such as hydrogen), which surrounded the earth, has been driven-off by the rays of the sun, and, the current atmosphere of the earth was, probably, formed, when the crust solidified and led to massive volcanic eruptions. The cooling of the earth's surface precipitated many compounds, and, eventually, allowed the condensation of water-vapour. However, let us acknowledge, that we still have a rather poor imagery about the way the earth developed, and, how the composition of its atmosphere, water and crust came-about. We only know, in very general terms, how the planets and the sun were born from an enriched inter-stellar dust cloud, but, variations in local circumstances gave rise to markedly divergent evolutionary pathways for the various planets. However, these same particular, or, even, peculiar circumstances allowed the earth to conduct a remarkable experiment with the organisation of atomic elements and molecules into fragile, fluid and continuously changing systems of life. For one reason or another, the other planets of our solar system did not develop a similar experiment with the possibilities of the living organisation.

In the concluding pages of this essay, we will trace the incorporation of ordinary atomic and molecular particles into the organisation of living systems, and, let us emphasise, that it is, indeed, entirely a matter of organisation, whether or not a system of force-fields behaves like a living organism, or, remains a conglomerate of inorganic, life-less particles.

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Chapter 10

Content

A re-emphasis of general principles.
No separate principle for the existence of life; life is a matter of organisation and fluidity.
The remoteness of the evolutionary imagery from observations that are possible with the naked senses.
Yet, the roots for an evolutionary point of view are there, for all of us to see, without having to depend on faith or authority.
A coherent framework of thoughts and explanations represents a biological phenomenon, as well as a human need.
A review of physical evolution, leading to the circumstances that allowed the natural experiment with the organisation of life to take place.
Polymerisation, solubility, permutations and a low internal resistance to change.
The effects of daily variations in sunlight.
The inability of thermal agitation alone to create sufficient possibilities for chemical permutations.
A review of the mechanisms of electron-excitation by solar energy.
Phosphorescence and bio-luminescence.
The emergence of a rivulet of electrons.
The shallow basin, filled after a rain-storm.
Energy-flow and energy-dissipation; either gravitational energy, or solar energy that has been captured by electron excitation.
Contintuing parallels between a rivulet of water and a rivulet of electrons, cascading down a biochemical sequence.
The ability to perform work.

Let us make it clear, once again, that we can only state general principles and trace broad outlines, when sketching the developments and origins of life. Many details are unknown and will remain unknown, because they have left no trace and can only be surmised in a rather speculative manner. The real importance is, not so much, that we know, exactly, what happened, and, how life originated, but, the main purpose of understanding is to clarify the principles upon which the existence of life rests.

One of these fascinating principles is the fact, that life is not a separate or new mode of existence. Again and again, we come to the conclusion, that life is a logical consequence of the existence possibilities that were present on the early earth. The idea, that there is no separate principle for the organisation of life, has only developed slowly, and, still, it has not been clearly formulated, because this concept flies in the face of all our primary sense impressions. It is, therefore, not widely accepted amongst the peoples of the world, since the religious perceptions of reality clash constantly with these conclusions. Nevertheless, these ideas are ever more broadly substantiated by a large variety of scientific disciplines that are in contact with, or, have as their subject, the study of life.

In our daily contacts with living structures, and, especially, in the appreciation and awareness of human capabilities and modes of behaviour, we have to come to the conclusion, that, we, as well as all living organisms, are, indeed, totally different from the lifeless matter that surrounds us. Only a detailed analysis of the composition and function of living structures, as well as an understanding of the mechanisms that constitute living behaviour, allow us to formulate life as a principle of organisation, rather than as an entirely new mode of existence.

In order to make such an audacious and strange view-point logical and acceptable, it is necessary to trace the development of the circumstances that existed on the early earth, and, we have to assume the occurrence of many events as a probability, but, they will, probably, never be proven with rigid, scientific methods. Nevertheless, these ideas originate from the sciences, and, they constitute an audacious summary of all those numerous scientific observations of the living and non-living structures, which lead, eventually, to a cautious formulation of the concepts of natural evolution. These concepts have now become an inescapable necessity, if we want to tie the numerous data of fact and observation into a coherent framework of understanding.

We will not trace the many separate fields of investigation that converge upon the theory of natural evolution. We would like to continue the train of thought, allowing us to follow the evolution of life as a logical consequence of the existence of early terrestial conditions, as well as the presence of energy; energy in the form of force-fields, electro-magnetic radiation, as well as energy in the form of matter-energy. Such a discussion does not follow, therefore, a chronological sequence of observations and ideas, which have made this understanding possible.

Ideas and structures of belief reveal a rather complicated pattern of growth and evolutionary developments as a result of rapid increases in the number and diversity of observations. These observations begin to search for a cohesive "thread" as a means to orden themselves into a manageable framework. The study of the growth of understanding is, therefore, a subject on its own, and is, frequently, not the easiest, nor the quickest way to familiarise oneself with the essential elements of a particular field of knowledge and insight.

The large mass of matter contained in the mass of the sun, led to a nuclear fusion-reaction, where hydrogen is changed into helium. As a result, the sun began to radiate a copious amount of electro-magnetic energy, which "blew-away" most of the lighter gases in the atmosphere of the early earth. In short, the physical conditions that governed the evolution of the solar system also determined the rotational speed of the earth around its axis, the tilt of this axis in relation to the orbital plane of the earth around the sun, the alternating periods of light and darkness, as well as the daily variations in temperature and the seasonal changes in the amount of solar energy received by the earth's surface.

All these physical characteristics determined, therefore, the range of the prevailing temperatures, as well as other physical parameters, and, at the same time, these parameters determined the possibility for a variety of substances to exist. After the surface of the earth had cooled sufficiently, it became possible for water to exist, largely, in a liquid form.

We visualise, therefore, a gigantic process of evaporation and condensation into warm rain-falls, which washed large quantities of solutes into the seas. It seems likely, that the salty composition of the present seas found its origins in these primordial rain-falls. A lot more water existed as vapour in the early terrestial atmosphere than at the present time, and the seas were shallower than they are now. Their temperature must have been quite warm, slowly cooling from the near-boiling point to the luke-warm temperatures of the shallow lagoons in tropical areas, which may still reflect some of these early terrestial conditions.

The large amounts of solutes in the luke-warm, shallow seas existed under circumstances that allowed an astonishing variety of chemical reactions and permutations to take place, and, one of the most outstanding reactions was the ability of certain combinations of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen atoms to form long chains, or "polymers". Many substances were formed, which we would now call "pre-organic", since they became, later, important building-blocks in the organisation of the living structure. All sorts of substances existed, such as amino-acids, and nitrogenous bases, reacting, again and again, in the unimaginable vastness of this natural, chemical laboratory of the primordial terrestial seas.

It seems futile to speculate, in detail, about the kind of substances that may have existed, and, let us, therefore, concentrate on the main developments that must have occurred, if it is correct to see the evolution of the living organism as a product of this vast, natural experiment with chemical possibilities of existence. These principles can be formulated as follows; the physical characteristics of the elements and molecules that were present as solutes in these primordial seas, determined, by and large, their distribution and solubility, as well as the formation of polymers. The daily variations of sun-light resulted in a flux of energy into this pool of solutes during the day, as well as a period of cooling-off during the night, with an outflow of, primarily, thermal energy.

It seems safe to assume, that this electro-magnetic radiation of the sun resulted, largely, in a thermal agitation of the compounds that were dissolved, facilitating the energy transfers that were possible on account of energy thresholds and potential differences between the various compounds. Eventually, all chemical transformations would have proceeded to their lowest possible level, since the fluidity of these solutes and their state of thermal agitation provided a low internal resistance to many chemical reactions and re-combinations.

Thermal agitation alone would, therefore, not result in any further chemical experimentation, once all these reactions had found their lowest level of energy existence. In a body of water that has flowed to its lowest gravitational energy-level, the mere heating of such a basin of water would not really induce any significant further flow. Certainly, the differences in density, caused by localised heating, will cause some currents, but, if the heating is uniform, the water will remain still, regardless of the amount of thermal energy infused into it.

We visualise a different type of energy-capture, where a small portion of the solar energy became the driving force behind this process of natural evolution and experimentation with the possibilities of the living organisation. We are referring, again, to the capture of electro-magnetic energy by a process of electron-excitation. It is likely, therefore, that many substances, floating near the surface of these primordial seas, would have "excited electrons", and, during the night, these electrons would fall back into their lower orbits, giving rise to a spectacular phenomenon of widespread phosphorescence or, rather, "proto-bioluminescence".

However, an excited electron is a localised source of energy, and may not revert back to its original orbit, if an adjacent electron-path around a different atom, would be an "easy jump" for such an excited electron. If there would be an affinity for this excited electron to "flow" into a different path, and not merely fall-back into its previous orbit, then, such a shift in electron path or flow would provide a specific source of energy for all sorts of chemical or proto-biochemical reaction-patterns.

It is obvious, that many different molecular structures must be in close proximity to each other, before such a flow of electron-energy could take place. It is not illogical to postulate, that these long-chain molecules, or polymers, would be able to provide a stable configuration and spatial organisation for a number of reactive molecules that had to exist closely together, in order to form an efficient pathway for the flow of a rivulet of electron-energy.

An excited electron may, therefore, jump into a neighbouring orbit and, it may, in turn, excite or drive-out another electron, which may repeat the process, etc. It is clear, that the energy-level of each subsequently excited electron must be somewhat lower, otherwise, a "flow" of electrons would not take place. We have, then, a situation, where solar energy is causing a small "rivulet of electrons" to flow, and, since we know, that such changes in eclectron configuration are also the hall-mark of chemical reactions, we are essentially considering the same mechanisms.

The capture of a small portion of solar energy in the form of excited electrons, may result in a flow of chemical permutations, each being slightly lower on the scale of potential chemical energies. The concept to keep in mind, here, is the fact, that the capture of a small portion of solar energy in the form of excited electrons, provides the possibility for a localised energy-flow or energy-dissipation to take place; "down the slope", so to speak, of a series of chemical reactions that represent a descending order of energy-levels. We can also describe this process by saying, that an energy-potential created by an excited electron, can be dissipated by a series of chemical reactions, if a suitable series of chemical substances is available to dissipate this electro-chemical energy-gradient.

We see, once again, how similar in concept this rivulet of biochemical transformations is to the small gully along which water can flow-down a slope and dissipate its gravitational energy-content. The substrate for such a chemical rivulet is, however, a path of least resistance for the flow of excited electrons. The dissipation of this energy-gradient may occur, in part, as heat, (as the energy is released in small increments with each subsequent chemical reaction), but, the energy may also be used to drive a chemical reaction that absorbs energy, such as the synthesis of compounds that act as a storage reservoir for a source of suitable biochemical energy.

Again, the comparison with a flow of water is useful. If water flows-down a slope, it may build-up a reservoir of energy and overcome an obstruction by rising to the level of the obstruction, before it starts to flow over it. Of course, it is necessary that the driving force of the water exceeds the level of the obstruction, and, the pathway for the dissipation of an energy-gradient must not be able to find an alternative route, "around" the obstruction or reservoir. By flowing over an "obstruction", it can perform "work". A flow of energy-dissipation can, therefore, turn the wheels of a turbine, or synthesise complex molcules such as carbo-hydrates and other compounds.

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Chapter 11

Content

A blind search for stable possibilities of existence.
An unimaginable variety of chemical permutations.
Overall principles.
Parallels between organic and inorganic evolution.
The potential stability of labile compounds, and their dependence upon a flow of energy.
A soft river-bed.
Dissipating an ever larger flow of captured sun-light.
A reversing flow of electron rivulets.
A more steady flow throughout the night.
The concept of "pathway fragility".
A functional system, finding stability in an oscillating flow of energy.
The necessary trade-off; sensitivity, obtained at the price fragility.
Replacement parts and the quality of viability, seen as an indication of the ability to carry-out repairs.
A review of the major principles that have been discussed.
Growth, enhanced viability, and an increasing rate of energy-dissipation.
Vulnerability, when depending upon a large flow of energy.

The capture of a certain amount of sun-light through the mechanisms of electron excitation creates the possibility for a vast network of energy-rivulets to exist in this protoplasmic primordium of the lukewarm, early terrestial seas. These energy-rivulets formed a fantastic variety of patterns, as they sought their lowest level of stable existence. As a result, there was a continuous source of energy for an unimaginable variety of chemical permutations.

It is important to remind ourselves, that, changes in the chemical composition were likely to change the pathways of energy-dissipation. Again, we have to grasp the essence of these events by stating overall principles. All these compounds would have somewhat different characteristics, and, compounds with a measure of stability were able to resist the disruptive influences of the enivronment, and would be around for a longer period of time, compared to those substances that disintegrated rapidly. This statement applies to inorganic matter as well, of course, because it is a logical consequence of the existence of a force-field and the characteristic of "internal resistance or fluidity", reacting in varying degrees to the presence of this force-field.

The ability to provide a pathway for the dissipation of an electro-chemical energy-gradient, means, necessarily, a high level of sensitivity to such a relatively weak force-field. A readiness to accept, and, then, let go again of an electron, indicates an ability to react to even minute variations in an electro-chemical potential, and, this ability represents, at the same time, a vulnerability, because it indicates a state of fragility, or fluidity. However, if the electron-flow exists nearly constantly, such vulnerable substances may be more secure, but, they depend, then, upon the continued presence of a rivulet of electrons.

We see, therefore, the following characteristics emerge. The pathway for a flow of electrons is made-up, largely, of fragile substances, which would rapidly disappear, if the flow of electrons would be interrupted for any length of time. This is unlike a river-bed, which may persist for a long time, even, after the flow of water has stopped. The "walls" of the electronic river-bed are so "soft", so to speak, that the absence of a flow of electrons would quickly result in the loss of such a pathway.

Similarly, a continuous flow of electrons would bring more and more sensitive and suitable substances into existence, which could function as a pathway for the dissipation of energy from excited electrons. A rivulet of electrons, has, therefore, a tendency to enlarge itself, lowering its resistance to the flow of energy, and, letting an ever larger flow of captured solar energy through its system.

Each night, however, the sun disappears, and, the rivulet that developed during the day, would have a tendency to disappear, or "silt-up". The following day, a new pathway would again have to be built-up from scratch. Therefore, if a complex system of electron-rivulets would develop the capability to divert, at least, a portion of the energy-flow into building-up an energy-reservoir that could sustain the flow of energy during the night, the flow of energy would be nearly continuous, enhancing the viability of such a pathway.

The next day, the capture of sunlight would begin again, and the flow of energy would again be diverted, at least, in part, to the building-up of storage compounds. After sun-set, the level of captured solar energy would quickly drop below the energy-level of the chemical reservoir, and now, a reverse flow of energy would occur, maintaining the pathways of energy-dissipation, but, probably, some of this chemical energy would be transformed into photons, if the reversal of the flow would be "complete" and resulted in a chemical excitation of electrons that dissipate their energy by the emission of light. This would lead to a form of proto-bioluminescence, lasting through most of the night.

Let us review, briefly, the concepts we have discussed so far. We had to introduce the concept of "pathway fragility" because of the need to be sensitive to small changes in the level of captured solar energy, or chemical storage-energy. We have also introduced the idea, that, branching points in the pathways of energy-dissipation, (with the ability to form high-energy storage components), would greatly enhance the viability of these pathways. We have, therefore, in essence, an oscillating system that has become dependent for its functions upon the continued existence of a flow of electrons.

Many of the fundamental biochemical characteristics of the living protoplasm have been fore-shadowed in these postulates, and, we did not have to introduce a function, or mode of existence, that was specific for the living organisation. For example, the fragility of biochemical substances was, and still is, a necessary characteristic of the sensitivity to make use of an electron-flow, and, this essential fragility of biochemical substances has become a cardinal feature in explaining the phenomena of the living organisation throughout the entire realm of its diverse existence in innumerable species' of life.

The high internal resistance to a number of force-fields gives many inorganic substances the possibility to exist in a static, crystalline state, but, at the same time, these substances lack the ability to react with chemical transformations to small energy-gradients. Nevertheless, reactable and sensitive biochemical substances did find other forms of stability, such as the availability of an energy-reservoir and replacement parts, as well as the availability of mechanisms to make replacements for all the substances that play a role in the cohesion of such a pathway of energy-dissipation. This includes, eventually, the ability to replace the manufacturing machinery that makes replacement parts, and, we have described, here, in essence, the natural tendency to develop the mechanisms of encoding guided sequences for the manufacture of replacement parts, as well as the reproduction of the living organisation and its guiding code in its entirety.

Since it is so difficult to get a "feel" for the transition from a "blind" or random search, to the mechanisms of "guided" or encoded manufacture, we should repeat the arguments briefly, at the risk of being repetitive. We have seen, that, replacement parts can take the place of a worn or defective segment of the electron-flow pathway, if these replacement parts are, somehow, available. This means, that the presence of such parts will be favoured by the mechanisms of natural selection, but any mechanism that can "produce" such parts, whenever they are needed, will also be favoured.

A high concentration of replacement parts adds to the viability of an electron-flow pathway, and, this leads, eventually, to a natural predilection for systems that have such a large supply of replacements or alternatives. Similarly, a system that uses part of the energy-flow to direct and guide the manufacture of such replacement parts, will be favoured over one that does not.

This brings us to the question, how a guided sequence of biochemical events is developed and preserved for "future reference", whenever it has become necessary to replace, not only, parts, but the entire structure. So far, we have described, how an energy-flow of electrons seeks, blindly, for naturally occurring pathways in order to dissipate its energy-content in this ever-present search for final stability, (which is the definition of "entropy"), or, the random distribution of an energy-gradient.

We have seen, how an energy-flow, or current, will favour the continued existence of such fragile existence possibilities, and, how it facilitates the emergence of replacement parts from the environment. We have also discussed, how naturally selective forces favour those energy systems, which allow the build-up of a reservoir of biochemical substances with the ability to function as a source of energy during the periods of darkness.

We should re-state, here, the main idea, nl., that the organisation of the living cell came-about during this period of about one billion years of evolutionary experimentation in the primordial protoplasm. The living cell came-about as the result of a blind search for possibilities of existence, but, during this time, encoding mechanisms came also into being under the same, naturally selective pressures of the search for possibilities of existence. Slowly, disappearing rivulets could, quickly, be "rebuilt" with the help of these guided sequences, and, by the time the protoplasmic primordium began to disappear, the ancestors of the independently living cellular units had incorporated the drive, as well as the mechanisms, to reproduce themselves, whenever circumstances were favourable for doing so.

Any development or trend, which happens to have a better chance to perpetuate its existence, will be favoured over a development or trend that is more fragile. Natural selection tests, randomly, by chance permutations, a variety of existence possibilities, but a favourable organisation or form of existence may be duplicated by a guided sequence of biochemical reactions, if the instructions for its manufacture have been encoded in one way or another.

As we mentioned, the energy-potential, continuously generated by the capture of solar energy into high-energy electron-bonds, is the driving force for this search for channels of energy-dissipation, just as a continuously over-flowing basin of water has rivulets of water streaming from it all the time. Water flowing down a slope will, continuously, favour the "easiest" channels, because these channels offer the least amount of resistance, and, we have discussed, how an enlarging river-bed brings-about a steady lowering of the resistance to the flow of water. Water flowing down-hill will favour, therefore, the larger and wider channels, only seeking new channels, if the wider channels become obstructed and are beginning to disappear.

Similarly, an existing flow of electrons in a rivulet of biochemical energy provides a path of lesser resistance compared to a new path or a smaller pathway, and, it is, therefore, favoured, as long as it can provide this pathway of least resistance. The larger the path, the more it will be favoured, as long as there is a sufficient amount of energy to "fuel" this increasing flow of energy-dissipation.

It is extremely useful and illuminating to see all living systems as representing, in essence, such a pathway for the dissipation of an energy-gradient. Viability is, therefore, associated with the quality of longevity or continuity of existence, and, an enlarged channel will be favoured, as long as there is an abundant supply of energy. This dependence on an abundance of energy introduces a measure of vulnerability, but, any development that contributes to the permanence or longevity of a system, contributes to its viability. With the increased viability of the system as a whole, the viability of each component has also been enhanced.

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Chapter 12

Content

The "docking" of large molecules into specific spatial relationships.
The "welding" of chemical bonds.
Localised and guided chemical events; the regulatory functions of enzymes.
Biochemical production takes place under the guidance of "feed-back" mechanisms.
Biochemical tools.
The carefully guarded sequence; templates for the production of enzymes and other compounds.
A blind search for possibilities of existence, but, a guided duplication of a viable organisation, once it has been "found".
The phenomenon of competitive strife is not limited to the organisation of living existence.
The change from randomness to non-randomness; an apparent contradiction of the mechanisms of entropy.
A phenomenon associated with energy-dissipation, which is in itself a trend towards randomness.
Another look at the shallow water-basin.
The break-through and the radiation of species' into new possibilities of existence.
The trend towards gigantism.
The emergence of the living cell.
The sole survivor of the protoplasmic primordium.

A biochemical bond may be established by a "docking procedure", where the relatively large compounds of the living protoplasm are carefully "aligned". The resistance to a chemical interaction is significantly lowered, if the active parts of large biochemical substances are carefully lined-up and held in a position where their active parts are in close contact with each other. The making or breaking of a bond may, then, take place with relative ease and precision, and, this type of localised chemical "welding" has become the standard manner in which chemical reactions take place in the organsiations of life. The major advantage of a docking procedure is the fact, that it allows for a very precise and localised reaction to take place, compared to a much more random and chaotic pattern of reactions on the basis of thermal agitation alone.

Compounds that dock a particular set of substances in order to make or break a chemical "weld", are called "enzymes", and, almost all biochemical reactions that take place in our cellular protoplasm are governed and regulated by specific enzymes. Enzymes, as well as all other biochemical compounds are manufactured, whenever their concentration falls below a certain level, and, they are produced by a similar docking process, where the building blocks of an enzyme are lined-up and "welded together", or polymerised, by another enzymatic biochemical process.

It is clear, then, that all complex biochemical substances, including those that regulate other biochemical or metabolic processes, are made by a guided form of assembly. All these mechanisms of guided duplication and manufacture require numerous specialised docking procedures in order to maintain a smooth flow of the biochemical processes upon which the living organism depends. The blue-prints for all these guidance mechanisms became locked-up in a carefully guarded sequence of highly complex, but relatively stable nucleic acids.

The viability of a living, continuously metabolising and flowing system of biochemical reactions, became, therefore, dependent upon the availability of stable, complex structural substances that function as a template or blue-print for a large variety of fragile biochemical substances and their regulating enzymes. These stable compounds do not take part themselves in the flow of energy, and, their stability is enhanced by being locked into a protective casket of complementary nucleic acids, forming a complex, double helix, which is only exposed to the processes of "transcription", or duplication, whenever there is a need for it.

Just as we would rather not use a prototype or standard, so is the genetic code of a living system carefully guarded from biochemical influences and activities. It is almost always locked into this protective, complementary casket of nucleic acids, and, the genetic code opens-up only temporarily, to allow the apposition of a complementary strand of nucleic acids to be formed, whenever necessary. These strands are copies or mirror images of the master-code and function, then, as "instructors", or guidance-patterns, for a variety of cellular functions in the protoplasm.

Let us remind ourselves, here, that the protoplasm of a cell is a highly organised structure, in spite of its fluidity, and, we should realise, that, specialised functions take place in specific areas that are organised like "little organs", or organelles. However, all these sub-cellular specialisations depend on the integrity of the cell as a whole, and a break-down of the organisational cohesion of the cell will affect the viability of the entire system, resulting in the death and disintegration of each part.

Until now, we have always assumed, that each and every system of electron-flow will have an abundant supply of energy to fuel its needs. Even, if the overall energy-level available is nearly limitless, it is still possible, and, even, likely, that local circumstances lead to a relative shortage of energy for some of these systems. Let us imagine, again, the beginning of the development of numerous small rivulets of electrons, flowing here and there, searching for a pathway of least resistance. We visualise, that these rivulets will develop everywhere, in particular, if the constitution of the primordial protoplasm is relatively homogeneous.

As soon as a number of rivulets have developed, we see, that some of them happen to have a slightly more favourable channel for the dissipation of the electron-energy, compared to others, and, these privileged channels will slowly enlarge. Some rivulets are left behind in this process of competitive growth, where the larger channels widen their advantage more and more. The smaller rivulets, situated in between the larger ones, will quickly experience a lack of sufficient energy to sustain their existence. On either side of these small rivulets, lower resistance-channels have formed, and the electron energy will flow preferentially into the enlarged channels. Quickly, the small channels become "starved" of suitable energy. Their pathways begin to deteriorate, and their resistance increases even more. The existence of these small rivulets has, then, become impossible. The flow of energy dries-up entirely and the fragile components deteriorate or begin to diffuse into the direction of the larger and more viable channels.

We have described, before, how the phenomenon of competitive existence antedates the development of the living organisation. Competitive strife, together with the disappearance of the smaller dissipation channels, is, therefore, a phenomenon that is characteristic for all situations, where growth can take place as a result of the presence of an energy-gradient. The boundaries between the larger channels of energy dissipation become ever more clearly demarcated as "watersheds".

As a major principle, we observe, therefore, that the processes of growth, often, take place in an environment of competitive strife, where the competition for energy between dissipating channels evolves, from a fairly uniform beginning of numerous small channels, distributed randomly throughout an area of observation, to an uneven distribution, where a few large channels obtain a stable existence and form watersheds between them. This type of growth and differentiation changes the circumstances from a uniform, random distribution, to a situation that is non-random and has sharp distinctions, which is the opposite of a process of entropy.

Growth in the enlargement of dissipation-channels transforms a situation from a random to a non-random state of existence, because very small chance-variations in uniformity of the situation at the beginning, together with differentiating happenings or events, may, eventually, develop into an uneven but stable pattern. This type of growth, away from an even, random distribution, does not depend upon the qualities or characteristics of a living organisation, but is the result of competitive behaviour, made possible during the mechanisms of energy-dissipation.

Let us look, again, for a moment, at this shallow basin, filled to the brim by a rain-storm, and, we see, how the water is beginning to flow over the rim. First, we see a number of small over-flows, but soon, a bit of earth is washed away, and a gully opens-up through which a gush of water flows down, washing-away ever more earth. Quickly, a large flow of water is occurring through this opening, while the smaller over-flows have dried-up. This, is the phenomenon of a "break-through" into a possibility of existence, and, the same principle applies to the phenomenon of the enlarging pathways for the dissipation of energy-gradients created by the capture of high-energy electrons.

A break-through is a rather sudden opening into a variety of possibilities of existence. This is a generalised statement of phenomena that occur commonly around us, and, this concept has great relevance for our understanding of the various species' that make-up the spectrum of living existence. When electron-capture became widespread in the protoplasmic primordium, the search for channels of energy-dissipation was on, but, we know, that electron-capture was a characteristic of matter that preceded the existence of biochemical or proto-biochemical substances. Only, when a sufficiently dense bed of potential energy-channels had developed in the primordial protoplasm, did electron-capture or electron excitation lead to rivulets of flowing electrons and biochemical transformations, in addition to the more usual dissipation of electron excitation by the emission of photons.

The steady enlargement of a few of these biochemical "rivers" at the expense of the smaller channels, is an example of a break-through, as well as growth, because in a break-through the growth-process becomes easier and easier, once started. If it is correct to assume, that very large parts of these shallow seas were, indeed, gigantic pools of primordial protoplasm, we may also visualise the probability, that, some of these electron-rivers may have become gigantic, indeed. We have no idea, how large these rivers may have been, but there is no reason to believe that limitations to such a river-bed enlargement would have developed early. The primordial protoplasm was not yet sequestered into blobs of cellular protoplasm, as we see in the survivors of this ancient laboratory of biochemical experiments; the independently metabolising and reproducing living cell.

It may well be, that these gigantic rivers were associated with similarly gigantic developments of other protoplasmic possibilities, such as the manufacture of carbo-hydrates, and, perhaps, all the preliminary experiments, which, eventually, led to the possibility of independent cellular existence, may have taken place on a gigantic scale. We see similar break-throughs with a tendency to gigantism, later, in the evolution of the living organisation; e.g., the dinosaurs of the reptilian age.

How did this tiny but remarkably complete organism come into being, which still survives in an incredible variety of forms; the independently metabolising and reproducing cellular unit? It is capable of making use of solar energy to fuel a small energy-flow of biochemical reactions through its system. In addition, it has a remarkably complete manufacturing plant within its enclosure, enabling it to synthesise all sorts of compounds. Besides, this remarkable cellular unit has an essential code, or key, securely safeguarded against deterioration, enabling it to duplicate itself by a process of cellular division.

This cellular division occurs, only, after an exact cope of its genetic code has been formed, and, the two identical sets of genetic instructions have been moved to opposite sides of the parent cell. In other words; how do we visualise the transition from this large primordial protoplasm with its vast and, probably, gigantic experiments with biochemical existence possibilities, to the self-contained, reproduceable, metabolising cellular unit, which proved to be so much more viable than the large protoplasmic seas? After all, these protoplasmic seas have disappeared, and the cellular unit still survives under a truly astounding variety of conditions.

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Chapter 13

Content

The cell and the virus.
Mechanisms of virus reproduction.
The boundaries between the living and non-living organisation of matter-energy.
Speculative images about the way the cellular unit could have emerged.
The protoplasmic primordium, and the challenges of change.
"Hot spots" of evolutionary development.
A precarious balance between adaptation and extinction that is being maintained for many generations.
A slowing-down of evolutionary change, whenever a successsful adaptation or break-through has occurred.
A differentiation into a variety of species'.
The survival of only a handful of biochemical reaction-patterns.
Life, almost did not make it.
The break-through of tool-manipulation and symbolic representation.
The single cell as our evolutionary ancestor.
Evidence, for all of us to see and think about.
Explaining ourselves on the basis of evolutionary images.
A diminishing need for the dualistic imagery of body and soul.
The exciting possibilities for a world-wide agreement about the validity of evolutionary and relativistic insights and concepts.

We have to admit, once again, that any attempt to solve these questions about the origins of the cellular unit and the astonishing variety of life, is based on speculative assumptions about the past existence of a protoplasmic primordium. We do not indulge in such speculations in an effort to find out, exactly, how the living cell arose, but, as an excercise in outlining a plausible route for the transition from a primordial protoplasm to a cellular unit.

We stilll have some evidence, that the cellular unit was originally a far less complete and sophisticated piece of machinery than the fully developed, "eukaryotic" cell, upon which contemporary life is almost exclusively based. In addition to a number of less complete cellular organisms, we are also aware of a number of "life-forms" that are much more primitive than the eukaryotic cell, and, some of these life-forms can only exist in the interior of a fully developed cell. There are a variety of "substances" that straddle the border between the living and the non-living organisation. We are referring, here, to the remarkable phenomenon of the "virus". These substances can direct a cell's metabolic machinery to produce copies of themselves. After a cell has become saturated with such virus-particles, the cell dies and breaks open, allowing the virus particles to move to another cell and begin the process of reproduction anew.

The virus particles have to invade another cell in order to continue their parasitic existence. During this "transit" phase from one cell to another, the virus particles become coated with a protective cap, because it is then exposed to the immune mechanisms of the multi-cellular organism. It seems that these virus particles are able to direct the dying cell to provide them with such a cap, which functions like a suit of armour and makes the perilous transition to a new cellular host possible. Yet, these virus particles may become "crystallised" when concentrated and purified by human manipulations. They turn-out to be almost pure nucleic acids and can be preserved, nearly indefinitely, by a process of freezing and drying.

A virus is an interesting transitional form between a living and a non-living organisation of matter. In the isolated, dried and crystalline state, viruses have none of the characteristics of life, but, injected into a suitable host-cell, they may multiply rapidly and either "live" in a parasitic relationship with the host cell for a long period of time, or, they may multiply so quickly, that they cause extensive damage to their hosts, resulting, often, in the death of many millions of cells. This may lead, eventually, to the demise of a large multi-cellular organism with the death of many billions of cells.

Let us go back to the imagery that may help us understand the mechanisms of transition that must have taken place during the transformation of the primordial protoplasm into an independently metabolising cellular unit. Perhaps, on the fringes of these gigantic pools, the protoplasmic material started to thin-out and diffuse into darker, colder and less hospitable surroundings, where the possibilities of existence for polymerised, pre-organic building blocks were more restricted. In these areas, the energy-levels of excited electrons would be low, because there would be less sunshine penetrating into these regions. It seems reasonable to imagine, that in these areas a high rate of disintegration would take place, where protoplasmic constituents would, again, be dissolving into simpler, inorganic matter-particles.

The existence of many compounds that could easily exist in the more hospitable areas of the protoplasmic pools, would be challenged continuously, and, we have seen, how a high mortality rate under harsh circumstances, constitutes a severe test for the long-term survival ability of any form of organisation. These conditions provide, at the same time, a possibility to test the viability of a large number of organisations or substances that may be able to survive such harsh and inhospitable areas.

If such specialised possibilities of existence were developed by a process of constant selective pressures, we may visualise a situation, where the fringe-areas developed organisation patterns of existence with a good chance of surviving the severe changes that were going to take place in the future of terrestial developments. Those organisational patterns that existed in the more favourable areas of the protoplasmic primordium were not subjected to such preparatory evolutionary changes, and were not able to survive the more generalised terrestial changes, when they came.

The fringe-areas of the protoplasmic pools may, therefore, have provided a "laboratory" for the exploration of existence possibilities under harsh and hostile conditions, which would later become predominant for the entire pool of primordial, protoplasmic seas.

Here, we see another remarkable principle come to the fore. This is the concept, that, evolutionary developments take place in "hot spots", rather than throughout the realm of living existence. Such hot spots of evolutionary development always come to the fore, whenever a small segment of a population is subjected to extremely harsh and unfavourable circumstances. Such a population grouping is, then, literally, fighting for its life, and, its continued existence hangs in the balance, generation after generation. The mortality rate is extremely high, and, even small advantages in performance and genetic constitution may make a significant difference in the struggle for survival. These slight differences will bring-about an adaptation of the gene-pool, since the next generation will be produced, solely, by those, who were successful and developed the ability to reproduce under these adverse conditions.

This means, that a process of adaptation is taking place in the package of genetic instructions for the succeeding generations. The balance between extinction, (the total loss of the entire gene-pool), and successful adaptation, (the successive losses of significant portions of each generation, without the loss of the entire population), is precariously maintained for many generations. Extinction may still occur, and, the evolutionary experiment may, then, be lost to human scrutiny, unless, at least, some of the anatomical changes that occurred during the search for viability, have been preserved and have been found as "fossils".

In species' that survive such a period of extreme pressures and rapid adaptations, the gene-pool will, eventually, be made-up by a much more viable set of genetic instructions. Survival becomes easier. The population grows again, as the rate of mortality falls, and, the rate of change slows-down, as the evolutionary pressures on this population grouping are easing-off. Such a population under pressure may be represented by a species, a number of related species', or, it may only apply to a part of a species, as a certain segment of its population tries to survive extremely demanding conditions. In the latter case, we see a tendency towards the "splitting" of a species on account of the fact, that different segments of a particular species are subjected to widely varying conditions of existence. These differences may, eventually, lead to a break in genetic compatibility, and, we have then seen the emergence of a new species.

Occasionally, evolutionary adaptation is extra-ordinarily successful, and a species is, then, able to enter an entirely new set of environmental conditions. Such a break-through into a previously unoccupied ecological niche is associated with a rapid growth rate and a further diversification of the species, as the various populations of the successful species are going to live under markedly different conditions, and are being exposed to different criteria of survival. Occasionally, the differences between the various segments of a population become so marked that no inter-breeding can take place any further.

A species may, also, remain rather stable in its population and territorial expanse. Then, it remains in balance with the ecological forces of its environment, and, its genetic composition will change little, or, not at all. It may, again, be subjected to very harsh existential pressures, but we have to remind ourselves, that, a high mortality rate, alone, is not sufficient to bring-about a spurt of evolutionary adaptation. There has to be a constant, selective factor at work, which determines the difference between life and death. If the factors of viability are random, no selection can take place. In addition, the species or population under pressure must have the "genetic reserves" to enable the forces of natural selection to accentuate pre-existing favourable genetic traits. If a species or population does not have a sufficient reservoir of genetic traits, it can not respond to the selective pressures of nature, and, it will succumb after all, with the permanent loss of its genetic key.

Let us go back to the question we aksed ourselves, when we began the task of sketching a plausible development of the cellular entity; this primitive, yet complete and viable unit of organic existence. The remarkable similarity in the biochemical processes of all animal and plant cells indicates, that a very limited number of biochemical sequences and organisational patterns survived the test of time. Only a few, a mere handful of metabolic patterns are still "in use" today, and, this means, that only a very small fraction of this unimaginably vast biochemical experiment was able to make the transition into cellular existence. All other cellular or near-cellular forms of biochemical organisation, together with all those gigantic experiments with a large biochemical energy-flow, have disappeared.

Life, almost did not make it at all, and, our earth would, then, be as life-less as the other planets of our solar system. Let us not forget, that our atmosphere would be entirely different, if life would have perished after its early pre-celular experiments, and, we would have few, if any clues, that such an experiment took place at all; long ago, in that far-distant past of the early earth.

However, a few small fragments of the primordial pool did survive, and, they were able to overcome the challenges thrown at them by environmental changes and competitive pressures. Certainly, many more experiments with the living organisation have disappeared, compared to those that are still around today, and, we have no idea, really, how many experiments with the organisation of life have become extinct.

We know about the extinction of some of the larger species' of animal life, as well as some of the species' that were closely related to ourselves. We realise, now, that, even the break-through of human existence, (the genetic encoding of the ability to speak and to form concepts and conscious awarenesses), has survived, only, in a small fragment of the species' that were exploring this avenue of evolutionary adaptation. Only the species of mankind has survived, so far, and, we feel often lonely, and, we are somewhat uncomfortable in our isolated ecological niche of conscious thought and language communications. Only very recently have we realised, at least, to some extent, what happened in that distant past, and, how we happen to be what we are, and, where we are.

How did this single cell begin the road to an independent existence, enclosed by a protective semi-permeable membrane? This mode of living existence is now the only form of living existence we know of. This model of living existence applies to the large communities of cells that exist as multi-cellular individuals in a perplexing variety of form and function, as well as to the single-celled organisms that live unnoticed, and, often, invisible in the vastness of the terrestial seas and the terrestial soil.

We have no clear answers to many of these questions, but, let us not forget, that these single-celled organisms are our ancestors, regardless, how difficult it is to believe this. Let us not forget, that this mental imagery of evolution is becoming less and less a matter of faith or a blind acceptance of scientific authority. Almost all our observations, scientific ideas and images point into the direction of evolutionary change and development as the basis for the realities we represent, and are confronted with. These images can, not only, be verified and scrutinised, (if we want to make the effort to do so), but, the concepts of evolution have become a necessary element in the construction of a coherent framework of reality perceptions and interpretations.

All the sciences support the idea, that matter, including the organisation of life, has evolved, and, what is so interesting, these concepts and thoughts do not have to be clothed in sanctity or secrcey, in order to be shielded from too intense a process of scrutiny. The facts are there for all of us to see, and, we really have no reason to fear this imagery, just because it is in conflict with the cultural and religious traditions of our up-bringing.

Let us not hide our heads in the sand and deny the evidence for the mechanisms of natural evolution and natural selection. Certainly, none of us can paint a totally coherent and scrupulously detailed picture, but awareness and reflection make it now possible to accept, not only, our physical existence as a product of natural evolution, but, our mental awarenesses and psychological needs can also be understood on the basis of natural, evolutionary mechanisms. We can understand our own behaviour better and better, as we understand more of the developmental processes and force-fields involved in our own existence.

We are now in a good position to develop a "feel" for the transition between the non-living and living organisations of matter. We do not have to explain our own existence, anymore, on the basis of inter-actions between a mortal body and an immortal soul. We have even been able to drop the concept of a separate, creative act by a Divine Being in order to explain the existence of the living and non-living realities within and around us.

We can find comfort and understanding, but, also, awe and excitement in the vistas of natural evolution, and, these images are, slowly, taking their place in this enormously vast panorama of human knowledge and thought. It is beautiful and exciting to contemplate these vistas, but, it is also sobering and a spur to hard work. It is a spur to the hard work of capturing these ideas and trying to consolidate them in understandable images, which can be spread and propagated, widely, amongst the future generations of mankind.

The various principles we have outlined, will give us a useful framework to orden the confusing variety of mental images which the sciences throw at us. If we keep in mind, that the living organisation was born out of a blind search for channels to dissipate a solar energy-gradient, captured in the form of excited electrons, we begin to formulate an imagery, that will, eventually, make our own existence logical and transparent.

There are many more principles and ideas that are useful in the search for understanding the different organisations of life. Many of these ideas, such as symbiosis, parasitic and predatory existence, have been discussed elsewhere. Here, we have centered our thoughts and ideas around the nature and flow associated with the presence of an energy-gradient, and, we have tried to develop a "feel", or an intuitive appreciation, for the similarities and differences of the living and the non-living organisations of matter, as well as the fascinating inter-relationships between matter and energy.

All these images have to be comprehended by a vulnerable, living, human organisation, with many contradictory needs and desires, and these images are understood, most clearly and comprehensively, if we keep the limitations of human understanding in mind.

The time has passed, that we can naively equate our beliefs in a certain mental image with an absolutely valid and unchangeable truth. As we begin to accept, increasingly, the natural, evolutionary background of our own existence, we will also begin to interpret our beliefs and behaviour in the same light, and, we will find an increasing level of freedom and communicability, when we have learned to appreciate the relativity of knowledge and truth, without coming to the erroneous conclusion that it is, therefore, futile to search for a way of interpreting reality, as well as a way of living together, we all can agree with.

.......

Summary

1. The energy to write, think and breathe.
   The energy of lightning, hurricanes, and the sun.
   Vagueness of the concept of energy.
   The waste of energy in the dubious life-style of affluence.
   Energy that is needed for basic maintenance, versus optional or "luxury-energy".
   Energy-flow and energy-existence.
   The force-fields behind the organic and inorganic worlds of matter.
   A beautiful opportunity to formulate a coherent structure of thought and explanation.
   Adaptations, and the art of manipulating an energy-source.
   The colder habitats of man.
   Winter and wood-heat.
   Technologial break-throughs, and the break-through of wasteful energy consumption.
   
   
   
2. An obsession with consumption.
   A review of planned discussions.
   Fire, still not mastered completely.
   A shift from physical to psychological exploitation.
   The "energetic" aspects of hand-tools.
   A detailed analysis of the reasons for using tools.
   A variety of energy-transformations.
   Flexible armour.
   Crushing a skull.
   Energy, as a product of mass and momentum.
   The mechanisms of amplification.
   A more formal definition of force, pressure and energy.
   The knife and the ax.
   
   
   
3. Deceleration-time, and the force of impact.
   Absorbing a blow.
   Splitting wood.
   The control of fire.
   The role of fire in extending man's habitat.
   Hand-tools and cultural tools.
   Learning to live together.
   Energy as a quantum of work.
   Force-fields.
   Radiating and locked-up forms of energy.
   
   
   
4. The basic concept of a field of force.
   Matter, anti-matter and gravity.
   Energy and growth; as the central theme of this essay.
   Basic maintenance-energy to fight entropy or chaos.
   Pressure differentials, and the concept of fluidity.
   The pump.
   The plumbing system.
   Gravity.
   The concept of a low internal resistance to existing force-fields..
   Gravitational, chemical and electro-magnetic fields of force.
   A cup full of water.
   The slipperiness of water molecules.
   Fluidity, and the way life is organised.
   Evaporation.
   Crystallisation.
   
   
   
5. Chemical potentials.
   Labile chemical compounds, and the need for continuous replenishment.
   Comparisons with a rapid or waterfall.
   Chemical fluidity.
   The concept of a "vector".
   Movement in a force-field, and the ability to carry-out work.
   The need for "sensitivity".
   Kinetic and potential energy; the pendulum of a clock.
   The relationships between energy and growth.
   Growth, paralleling energy accumulation.
   Growth, paralleling energy consumption.
   Growth, paralleling the rate of energy dissipation.
   A number of examples; clouds, a pressure-cooker and ice-crystals.
   Gravitational energy-dissipation, and the rivulets of water.
   Growing into large river-systems.
   Scouring a river-bed, and lowering the resistance to energy-dissipation.
   The formation of "deltas" and "silt-bars".
   Life, seen as a channel for the dissipation of solar energy, captured by electron-excitation.
   
   
   
6. Heat, electron configurations, electro-static potentials and chemical reactions.
   The atomic model of matter.
   An outline of contemporary ideas about atoms and sub-atomic particles.
   The electro-magnetic ray or wave-front.
   A bouncing "point-source" of static electricity.
   Alternating electric and magnetic force-fields.
   A phase-differential at right angles.
   Stability, found in an alternating oscillation between magnetic and electric force-fields, as well as in a rapid, linear propagation or an orbital form of interlocking of an electro-magnetic quantum.
   The spectrum of electro-magnetic wave-lengths.
   The sense of vision, and the range of ultra-violet and infra-red radiation.
   Concepts behind the existence of matter.
   Elementary particles.
   The usefulness of general principles, in spite of the absence of specific details.
   Spinning dipoles and tripoles; the "quark".
   A hypothetical elementary particle; contraction around one of the electro-magnetic fields of a photon.
   The spinning point-source, and the magnetic lines of force, emanating from the poles of a spinning point-source.
   Atoms, nuclei and electron clouds.
   Protons and neutrons, alternating identities in an oscillatory meson-exchange.
   The energy-content of rapidly rotating, matter-antimatter complexes.
   
   
   
7. Particle creation and symmetry considerations.
   The generation of an electro-magnetic wave.
   The "excitation" of an electron orbit.
   The "cork-screw" hypothesis.
   Mirror-images.
   Photons or "light particles".
   Violent collisions and a mutual annihilation.
   A matter of chance.
   Images that are accepted by scientists.
   Possible axes of attraction.
   The concepts of mass and inertia.
   The intra-stellar nuclear furnace.
   Forging large complexes of protons and neutrons, "glued" together by mesons, and, resulting in a positive net charge.
   The "clothing" of atomic nuclei with electrons orbiting in a number of shells.
   Matter-antimatter complexes are part of the intra-nuclear structure.
   The limitations of large matter-antimatter aggregates.
   A summary of the evolution of atomic elements.
   Chemical reactions are limited to the sharing of outer electron orbits.
   Varying nuclear furnaces, and the concentric layering of nuclear transformations within large stars.
   The layering of electrons around nuclei in "shells" with varying diameters.
   Three categories of atomic elements; those with a full outer shell, with a nearly full shell, and those with a nearly empty shell.
   The formation of ions and chemical bonds.
   
   
   
8. Atomic elements that are sharing electron orbits.
   Most matter on earth exists in "molecular form", where atomic elements have shared, to some extent, their outer electrons with similar or dissimilar elements.
   Chemical stability.
   The resistance to chemical bonding.
   The tendency for chemical reactions to "flow" to their lowest possible energy-potential.
   The liberation of energy as an electro-magnetic wave-front; heat.
   Heat represents a wide range or spectrum of electro-magnetic wave-fronts.
   Explosive reactions.
   The burning of wood; exothermic reactions with an initial barrier.
   Chemical reactions that require continuously an influx of energy.
   Photo-synthesis; the build-up of an energy-reservoir.
   Molecular complexity, or growth in size, paralleling a build-up in energy-content.
   A review of the concept of gravity.
   A review of intra-nuclear force-fields.
   Somewhat unsatisfactory images from the theory of "general relativity".
   Curved space-time, and the "dent" caused by the presence of matter.
   
   
   
9. Using the same imagery, but with a different set of "explanatory connections".
   Another look at "empty space".
   The electro-magnetic "grid".
   Temperature; electro-magnetic agitation throughout space.
   Various forms of inter-action between matter and radiant energy. Heat, in contrast with the excitation of electrons in an outer orbit.
   A hypothesis of the phenomenon of gravitation.
   Photo-spectroscopy.
   The concept of "friction" between orbital and radiant energy forms.
   The hypothesis, that orbital or locked-up energy-forms may require the constant absorption of a minute amount of radiant energy in order to remain stable.
   The concept of a random dissipation of frictional energy.
   The creation of a "trough", or "funnel", as "grid-energy" is being absorbed by matter.
   The shift from an unexplained attractive force, situated in matter, to an unexplained pressure upon matter from the surrounding space.
   Gravitational attraction between the matter particles in inter-stellar dust clouds.
   The formation of stars; the sun.
   The accidental circumstances of terrestial existence, and their relationships to the possibilities of existence for the organisations of life.
   
   
   
10. A re-emphasis of general principles.
    No separate principle for the existence of life; life is a matter of organisation and fluidity.
    The remoteness of the evolutionary imagery from observations that are possible with the naked senses.
    Yet, the roots for an evolutionary point of view are there, for all of us to see, without having to depend on faith or authority.
    A coherent framework of thoughts and explanations represents a biological phenomenon, as well as a human need.
    A review of physical evolution, leading to the circumstances that allowed the natural experiment with the organisation of life to take place.
    Polymerisation, solubility, permutations and a low internal resistance to change.
    The effects of daily variations in sunlight.
    The inability of thermal agitation alone to create sufficient possibilities for chemical permutations.
    A review of the mechanisms of electron-excitation by solar energy.
    Phosphorescence and bio-luminescence.
    The emergence of a rivulet of electrons.
    The shallow basin, filled after a rain-storm.
    Energy-flow and energy-dissipation; either gravitational energy, or solar energy that has been captured by electron excitation.
    Contintuing parallels between a rivulet of water and a rivulet of electrons, cascading down a biochemical sequence.
    The ability to perform work.
    
    
    
11. A blind search for stable possibilities of existence.
    An unimaginable variety of chemical permutations.
    Overall principles.
    Parallels between organic and inorganic evolution.
    The potential stability of labile compounds, and their dependence upon a flow of energy.
    A soft river-bed.
    Dissipating an ever larger flow of captured sun-light.
    A reversing flow of electron rivulets.
    A more steady flow throughout the night.
    The concept of "pathway fragility".
    A functional system, finding stability in an oscillating flow of energy.
    The necessary trade-off; sensitivity, obtained at the price fragility.
    Replacement parts and the quality of viability, seen as an indication of the ability to carry-out repairs.
    A review of the major principles that have been discussed.
    Growth, enhanced viability, and an increasing rate of energy-dissipation.
    Vulnerability, when depending upon a large flow of energy.
    
    
    
12. The "docking" of large molecules into specific spatial relationships.
    The "welding" of chemical bonds.
    Localised and guided chemical events; the regulatory functions of enzymes.
    Biochemical production takes place under the guidance of "feed-back" mechanisms.
    Biochemical tools.
    The carefully guarded sequence; templates for the production of enzymes and other compounds.
    A blind search for possibilities of existence, but, a guided duplication of a viable organisation, once it has been "found".
    The phenomenon of competitive strife is not limited to the organisation of living existence.
    The change from randomness to non-randomness; an apparent contradiction of the mechanisms of entropy.
    A phenomenon associated with energy-dissipation, which is in itself a trend towards randomness.
    Another look at the shallow water-basin.
    The break-through and the radiation of species' into new possibilities of existence.
    The trend towards gigantism.
    The emergence of the living cell.
    The sole survivor of the protoplasmic primordium.
    
    
    
13. The cell and the virus.
    Mechanisms of virus reproduction.
    The boundaries between the living and non-living organisation of matter-energy.
    Speculative images about the way the cellular unit could have emerged.
    The protoplasmic primordium, and the challenges of change.
    "Hot spots" of evolutionary development.
    A precarious balance between adaptation and extinction that is being maintained for many generations.
    A slowing-down of evolutionary change, whenever a successsful adaptation or break-through has occurred.
    A differentiation into a variety of species'.
    The survival of only a handful of biochemical reaction-patterns.
    Life, almost did not make it.
    The break-through of tool-manipulation and symbolic representation.
    The single cell as our evolutionary ancestor.
    Evidence, for all of us to see and think about.
    Explaining ourselves on the basis of evolutionary images.
    A diminishing need for the dualistic imagery of body and soul.
    The exciting possibilities for a world-wide agreement about the validity of evolutionary and relativistic insights and concepts.

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