---
slug: school-dissipative-structures-non-equilibrium-thermodynamics
title: Dissipative Structures and Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics
canonical: https://miscsubjects.com/a/school-dissipative-structures-non-equilibrium-thermodynamics
---

## What the subject saw and its core results

Ilya Prigogine and Gregoire Nicolis examined open chemical systems that exchange energy and matter with their surroundings. They showed that flows far from thermodynamic equilibrium can produce stable spatial and temporal order. Fluctuations amplify under certain conditions and create new structures that dissipate energy more effectively than the prior state. These structures maintain themselves only while the energy flow continues. Classic examples include convection cells in heated fluids and oscillating chemical reactions that form spirals and waves.

The core mechanism is instability of the uniform state followed by selection of a patterned state. Linear stability analysis identifies the threshold. Beyond the threshold, nonlinear terms select the new structure. Entropy production increases locally while the system exports entropy to the surroundings.

## Exact primary works and passages

Nicolis and Prigogine published the technical foundation in 1977. Nicolis, G., & Prigogine, I. (1977). Self-Organization in Nonequilibrium Systems: From Dissipative Structures to Order Through Fluctuations. Wiley. The book derives the conditions for dissipative structures from the equations of reaction-diffusion systems and fluid dynamics.

Prigogine presented the Nobel lecture in 1977. Prigogine, I. (1977). Time, Structure and Fluctuations. Nobel Lecture. Stockholm. The lecture states: "Irreversible processes may lead to a new type of dynamic states of matter which I have called dissipative structures."

The popular account appeared in 1984. Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (1984). Order Out of Chaos: Man's New Dialogue with Nature. Bantam. The authors write: "Nonequilibrium is the source of order. Nonequilibrium brings order out of chaos."

An earlier technical text is Prigogine, I. (1955). Introduction to Thermodynamics of Irreversible Processes. Charles C. Thomas.

## Convergence patterns touched

The work independently derives flow networks, bounded chaos, spirals and waves, and symmetry breaking. Reaction-diffusion equations produce spiral waves in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. Rayleigh-Bénard convection produces hexagonal cells, a form of symmetry breaking. These patterns match the structural family generated by reliable energy flows across scales. The framework places material flows at the base of increasing organization, consistent with the sequence from difference and flow to structure.

## Distance from the full synthesis

The school reaches the step from energy flow to ordered structure. It stops before a complete account of memory formation that persists without continuous external drive and before any treatment of the observer inside the observed system. Extensions to biology remain at the level of chemical kinetics and do not derive the transition to self-reproducing systems with heritable memory. Speculative remarks on society and mind appear in later writings but lack the formal apparatus developed for chemical systems.

## Honest limits and disconfirming edges

The original derivations assume conditions near the first instability threshold. Some later work shows that far-from-equilibrium regimes can exhibit different scaling and require additional closures. Critics note that the formalism does not automatically extend to systems dominated by quantum effects or strong gravitational fields. A reductionist position holds that all such structures remain fully describable by microscopic reversible dynamics plus boundary conditions, with no new fundamental law required.

## Claims

- Claim c1: Energy flows far from equilibrium can generate and sustain ordered spatial and temporal patterns through fluctuation amplification. Tier: mechanistic. Source: Nicolis & Prigogine 1977.
- Claim c2: The Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction produces sustained spiral and wave patterns under continuous reactant supply. Tier: mechanistic. Source: Nicolis & Prigogine 1977.
- Claim c3: Dissipative structures require continuous energy throughput and collapse when the flow ceases. Tier: mechanistic. Source: Prigogine 1977 Nobel lecture.
- Claim c4: The framework accounts for symmetry breaking in fluid layers heated from below. Tier: mechanistic. Source: Prigogine 1977 Nobel lecture.
- Claim c5: The school provides no formal derivation of heritable memory structures that persist after the driving flow ends. Tier: anecdotal. Source: comparison with 1984 text content.
- Claim c6: Later extensions note that some far-from-equilibrium regimes fall outside the original linear-stability treatment. Tier: mechanistic. Source: secondary literature on extensions.

## Sources

- s1: Nicolis, G., & Prigogine, I. (1977). Self-Organization in Nonequilibrium Systems. Wiley. https://books.google.com/books/about/Self_Organization_in_Nonequilibrium_Syst.html?id=mZkQAQAAIAAJ Quote: full title and subtitle. Summary: derives conditions for dissipative structures in reaction-diffusion and fluid systems.
- s2: Prigogine, I. (1977). Time, Structure and Fluctuations. Nobel Lecture. https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/prigogine-lecture.pdf Quote: "Irreversible processes may lead to a new type of dynamic states of matter which I have called dissipative structures." Summary: presents the concept and examples.
- s3: Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (1984). Order Out of Chaos. Bantam. https://archive.org/details/orderoutofchaosm00prig Quote: "Nonequilibrium is the source of order." Summary: popular exposition linking irreversibility to emergence of order.
- s4: Prigogine, I. (1955). Introduction to Thermodynamics of Irreversible Processes. Charles C. Thomas. Summary: early technical development of irreversible thermodynamics.
