Quantum thermodynamics, developed in the second half of the twentieth century for technical devices, turned out to be workable in the sphere of living beings (the biosphere). The thermodynamic law dictates its limitations and prohibitions where no one expected it. It was able to answer many questions of the biosphere formulated about 100 years ago and lying in the field of human vision, plant photosynthesis and photomovement of protozoa. . The key to understanding all these processes was the entropy of the absorbed electromagnetic radiation (EMR), and the main characteristic was the efficiency of converting EMR energy into free energy. The condition for the stable functioning of the system is a linear increase of entropy generation rate in the system with an increase in energy absorption or its weak deviation from the linear dependence. Under these conditions, the efficiency increases according to the logarithmic law (the Weber-Fechner law). The most unexpected was the coincidence of the responses of the systems obeying the statistics of Bose-Einstein, Fermi - Dirac and Maxwell-Boltzmann. This means that the Weber-Fechner law is a thermodynamic law of very broad generality and significance. A linear increase of entropy generation rate can occur when the energy absorption of different types changes by 10 to 20 orders of magnitude, but with a higher absorption, the entropy generation rate begins to grow beyond linearly. This leads to a limited increase in efficiency and its subsequent decline. The difference between the biosphere and the noosphere is much smaller than between the living and inanimate world. The thermodynamic forecast for the fate of our civilization gives the same result as the work of the Club of Rome. This requires the most careful discussion, since thermodynamics (unlike the Club of Rome) allows for a positive outcome in the sense of preserving our civilization with a reasonable behavioral reaction of the population.
efficiency of energy conversion, Weber-Fechner law, limits of efficiency growth and all effects
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