---
slug: convergence-encyclopedia-c01
title: Convergence Encyclopedia: C01 — Gradient Dissipation / Far-From-Equilibrium Order
canonical: https://miscsubjects.com/a/convergence-encyclopedia-c01
---

**F1 — Tier.** T1 (established, multiple independent sources, Nobel-recognized)

**F2 — Sources.** 
- Prigogine, I. (1977). Nobel Prize in Chemistry, “for contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures.”
- Schroedinger, E. (1944). What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell. Cambridge University Press.
- Schneider, E.D. & Kay, J.J. (1994). “Life as a manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics.” Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 19(6–8), 25–48.
- England, J.L. (2013). “Statistical physics of self-replication.” Journal of Chemical Physics, 139(12), 121923.

**F3 — Domains.** Physics (non-equilibrium thermodynamics), chemistry (reaction-diffusion), biology (metabolism, morphogenesis), ecology (energy flows, food webs).

**F4 — Scale.** Molecular (~10⁻⁹ m) → biosphere (~10⁷ m); temporal range from chemical oscillations (seconds) to planetary energy redistribution (millennia).

**F5 — Falsifier.** Observation of a durable complex structure maintaining itself with zero energy/matter throughput — a persistent ordered system that does not export entropy. Such a structure would violate the second law and invalidate the dissipative-structure thesis.

**F6 — Rival (strongest form).** Local order is transient fluctuation; there is no directional bias toward complexity. The apparent increase in ordered structures is a selection effect — we observe only the rare fluctuations that persisted long enough to be observed. Most of the universe is and remains equilibrium or near-equilibrium; complex structures are outliers, not trends. (Boltzmann’s fluctuation hypothesis, updated.)

**F7 — Independence.** HIGH. Prigogine (thermodynamics, Brussels), Schroedinger (quantum biology, Dublin), England (statistical mechanics, MIT) arrived at gradient-dissipation order from entirely different starting points. No shared institutional lineage. Schroedinger predates Prigogine’s Nobel work by 33 years; England’s 2013 paper derives from none of the above.

**F8 — Pattern type.** Energetic.

**F9 — Maps.** A2 (thermodynamic/computational convergence), A4 (biosphere-ecosphere).

---

## Corpus map
- Previous: [Convergence Encyclopedia: The Schema](/a/convergence-encyclopedia-schema)
- Next: [Convergence Encyclopedia: C02](/a/convergence-encyclopedia-c02)
- Encyclopedia start: [The Schema](/a/convergence-encyclopedia-schema)
- Same node, other planes: [Catalogue node C01](/a/oip-node-c01-gradient-dissipation-far-from-equilibrium-order) · [Catalogue hub](/a/oip-convergence-public-article)
- Edges touching C01: [convergence edge 1](/a/oip-convergence-edge-1)
- Kin corpora: [Total Structure](/a/oip-total-structure) · [Signature of the Grain](/a/oip-sog-preamble-axioms)
