Organisms maintain coherence across vast spatial and temporal scales. One way to view this phenomenon is through the lens of the laser. In conventional lasers, excited atoms or molecules synchronize and emit coherent light at a single frequency. The system reaches a state where all possible modes condense into one dominant mode. Living systems appear to do something similar but with multiple energy domains spanning the quantum to the classical.

Organism continuum mechanics examines how living systems behave as continuous media. What’s important here is how forces, stresses, and fluxes distribute themselves in cells, tissues, and organs. From a physics perspective these systems do not exist in equilibrium. They require constant energy input to sustain life processes. Thermodynamically this places them in a far-from-equilibrium state where fluxes, gradients, and entropy balance to maintain order. Information theory sees this as a process of exporting disorder to the environment while retaining internal organization. Biophysics refines that view by showing how energy is harnessed in cyclic reactions that perpetuate metabolic and structural integrity.

I remember when Shannon first introduced to me the idea that states cannot overlap. In data transmission messages must stay distinct. Spheres in high dimensional space cannot touch (channel capacity formula). You work the same way. Molecular states driving reactions / decisions must be distinct for survival. He probably never would’ve dreamed his communications mathematics would be utilized like this.

Space and time are often treated as immutable absolutes in classical physics. In many traditional models, living processes unfold within a passive stage that remains unaffected by biology. However, space and time emerge from, or are at least modified by, the presence and activities of living systems. Ideas such as biological relativity and biological production of spacetime argue that organisms are not merely embedded in a static fabric. Instead, their metabolic and organizational patterns help define the geometry and evolution of that fabric.

Was going through one of my textbooks today and realized I’ve never talked much about this before. This is a short post but I thought it deserved a place in the articles tab since we’ve been discussing biological thermodynamics, order, emergence, design, etc..

Myself, being Christian and a physics geek, I always try and bridge the gap between modern scientific theory and my faith. I have done this with various physical theories thus far (QED, Statistical Mechanics, etc), and of course this would eventually lead me to intelligent design. And now here we are.

Think back to the first time you heard about evolution in a classroom. Chances are it was explained as the primary answer for how life changes over time. Yet the fact that it remains a theory signals there is still room for questions and debate. While many accept that natural selection and random mutations drive biological change, some believe these mechanisms do not fully explain the sophisticated structures and complex information found in living organisms.

I member listening to Joe Rogan's podcast some time ago when the concept of Assembly Theory came up. It caught my interest as a fascinating idea. Intrigued, I dove into researching it further, and that journey has brought us to this post today!

Operating near a chaotic boundary can be.. advantageous. Systems in this state can explore a broad range of configurations. When the brain approaches such a boundary, it shows increased neural complexity. This complexity can support richer information processing. Such effects may explain why states near epileptic thresholds sometimes correlate with enhanced cognitive abilities.

In scripture, time is more than a human experience. It is a creation of God that carries divine purpose and meaning. The Bible begins with God establishing time. “And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day” (Genesis 1:5). From that initial division of light and darkness, time became woven into creation’s fabric. It was crafted to mark the rhythms of work, rest, and renewal.

Sleep is essential for the maintenance of bodily functions that include immune defense, tissue repair, and cellular homeostasis, yet many individuals find their rest disrupted and seek non-pharmacological solutions that are safer and more sustainable than conventional medications. Grounding has attracted increasing interest because it can influence electron exchange and alter the energetic balance within tissues and cells. Recent research in Sprague Dawley rats now provides some cool evidence that grounding can reshape sleep architecture and influence neural and biochemical parameters. I’ve discussed how grounding has influenced anxiety-like behavior in rats previously in Earth & Water.

I probably should've talked about information theory when I went into entropy/order of biological systems.. Information stored in life systems can be measured and the loss of that information = entropy. There's neat universality to open systems having energy flow through them. This makes internal ordering a natural process.

Consider an aging bridge constructed from well-tested materials. Even though it stands firm for decades, small cracks develop in its supports. These flaws appear slowly and quietly as thermal stresses, traffic loads, and subtle shifts in the ground beneath it cause minute changes. Over many years, the structure moves from stable and well-supported to a state where its underlying redundancies begin to fail. Its eventual need for repair or replacement does not occur through a single catastrophic event, but rather through the incremental accumulation of damage. In a similar way, living organisms face aging processes governed by principles of physics and reliability.

Chaos theory simply suggests that what appears to most people as chaos is not really chaotic, but a series of different types of orders with which the human mind has not yet become familiar.

Plants, through photosynthesis, serve as an exemplary system for examining entropy fluxes in conjunction with low-entropy reservoirs and biological processes. The process supports the second law of thermodynamics, which dictates an overall increase in entropy, even as the initial photochemical stages generate debate. Photosynthesis begins with low-entropy radiant energy from the sun. This energy is partially transformed into chemical energy stored in biomolecules, which have lower entropy compared to the heat energy generated during energy dissipation.

When light scatters, it interacts with particles, molecules, or surfaces in its path, causing it to change direction and spread out even further. Each time it encounters something new, it disperses yet again, branching off to illuminate even more areas that would otherwise remain unseen. This physical process mirrors how God’s presence and influence interact with the world, touching one life and then radiating outward to impact others. Like scattering light, God’s influence moves from one interaction to the next, spreading His truth, grace, and love far beyond the initial point of contact.

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." — Ephesians 5:8

This profound verse speaks to a transformation from darkness to light, a journey from ignorance to understanding, from absence to presence. Just as we are encouraged to live as children of light, illuminating the world with our actions and presence, the natural world is abundant with organisms that emit light and energy, bringing illumination to their surroundings. These biological emissions are not merely scientific phenomena; they are manifestations of life's inherent ability to transform and radiate energy into the environment. We now return to our 3-part series on absorption, emission, and scattering phenomena.

If God is light, then when organisms absorb, emit, and scatter light, they are, in a sense, interacting with the divine presence. Each instance of taking in or reflecting light mirrors the way life is sustained and touched by God. Just as organisms depend on light for growth and life, they symbolically participate in receiving and reflecting the essence of God, embodying His presence in the natural world. In the next few posts, we'll be taking a quick look at some of these light-related processes—absorption, emission, and scattering.

In the Christianity, God is the ultimate source and sustainer of all order, a truth reflected throughout creation. Scripture reveals God’s intentional design, proclaiming that He is “not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Every aspect of life’s complexity and energy flow through living systems is a testament to God’s sustaining power and presence.

This blog is a fun one - inspired by one of the greats, Mae-Won Ho. Quantum mechanics has reshaped our understanding of reality with phenomena like entanglement and coherence—concepts that have recently found unexpected relevance in biology. While the bridge between physics and biology is not immediately obvious, recent insights suggest that coherence and entanglement are not only relevant but may be fundamental to biological processes. Far from being confined to subatomic particles, these quantum effects may underpin the highly synchronized and efficient behaviors seen in living systems, from molecular interactions to cellular communication and even cognition.