Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 27, 2025
10:26
Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
Published on: September 11, 2021
4.2K
Energy, Entropy, Constraints, and Creativity in Economic Growth and Crises.
Reiner Kümmel1, Dietmar Lindenberger2
1Institute for Theoretical Physics und Astrophysics, University of Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 8, 2020
Summary
Neoclassical economic growth models overlook thermodynamics and energy's true role. Biophysical analysis reveals energy
Area of Science:
- Economics
- Thermodynamics
- Industrial Ecology
Background:
- Mainstream neoclassical economic growth theory neglects the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics.
- It typically considers only capital and labor, assigning a minimal 5% output elasticity to energy.
- This leads to issues like the 'Solow Residual' and failure to explain economic recessions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight overlooked technological constraints in neoclassical cost-share theorem derivations.
- To propose biophysical analyses of economic growth that address neoclassical deficiencies.
- To elucidate the bidirectional causality between energy conversion and economic growth.
Main Methods:
- Critique of the neoclassical cost-share theorem by incorporating technological constraints.
- Development of biophysical economic growth models.
- Analysis of energy's output elasticity and its relationship with economic growth.
Main Results:
- Energy's output elasticity is significantly larger than its cost share.
- A bidirectional causality exists between energy conversion and economic growth.
- This framework helps explain economic crises and recovery through supply and demand dynamics.
Conclusions:
- Biophysical economic growth models offer a more accurate representation than neoclassical theory.
- Human creativity is crucial but faces risks from energy markets and technological challenges.
- Entropy production, through emissions and heat, imposes constraints on industrial growth within the biosphere.
Related Concept Videos
01:14The Second Law of Thermodynamics
6.3K
In the quest to identify a property that may reliably predict the spontaneity of a process, a promising candidate has been identified: entropy. Scientists refer to the measure of randomness or disorder within a system as entropy. High entropy means high disorder and low energy. To better understand entropy, think of a student’s bedroom. If no energy or work were put into it, the room would quickly become messy. It would exist in a very disordered state, one of high entropy. Energy must be...
6.3K
01:20Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
3.9K
The second law of thermodynamics can be stated quantitatively using the concept of entropy. Entropy is the measure of disorder of the system.
The relation between entropy and disorder can be illustrated with the example of the phase change of ice to water. In ice, the molecules are located at specific sites giving a solid state, whereas, in a liquid form, these molecules are much freer to move. The molecular arrangement has therefore become more randomized. Although the change in average...
The relation between entropy and disorder can be illustrated with the example of the phase change of ice to water. In ice, the molecules are located at specific sites giving a solid state, whereas, in a liquid form, these molecules are much freer to move. The molecular arrangement has therefore become more randomized. Although the change in average...
3.9K
01:18Entropy
3.2K
The first law of thermodynamics is quantitatively formulated via an equation relating the internal energy of a system, the heat exchanged by it, and the work done on it. A quantitative formulation of the second law of thermodynamics leads to defining a state function, the entropy.
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
3.2K
02:39Entropy
33.6K
Salt particles that have dissolved in water never spontaneously come back together in solution to reform solid particles. Moreover, a gas that has expanded in a vacuum remains dispersed and never spontaneously reassembles. The unidirectional nature of these phenomena is the result of a thermodynamic state function called entropy (S). Entropy is the measure of the extent to which the energy is dispersed throughout a system, or in other words, it is proportional to the degree of disorder of a...
33.6K
01:22Entropy within the Cell
12.3K
A living cell's primary tasks of obtaining, transforming, and using energy to do work may seem simple. However, the second law of thermodynamics explains why these tasks are harder than they appear. None of the energy transfers in the universe are completely efficient. In every energy transfer, some amount of energy is lost in a form that is unusable. In most cases, this form is heat energy. Thermodynamically, heat energy is defined as the energy transferred from one system to another that...
12.3K
00:53Second Law of Thermodynamics
66.4K
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that entropy, or the amount of disorder in a system, increases each time energy is transferred or transformed. Each energy transfer results in a certain amount of energy that is lost—usually in the form of heat—that increases the disorder of the surroundings. This can also be demonstrated in a classic food web. Herbivores harvest chemical energy from plants and release heat and carbon dioxide into the environment. Carnivores harvest the...
66.4K