Organism Laser

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.

Thermodynamically, the organism laser concept relates to a state sometimes called the k=constant regime. In this regime, energy is spread across all space-time domains until every potential pathway becomes accessible. Conventional thermodynamics would see this as a maximum-entropy state, but living systems seem to achieve a paradoxical balance. They are both highly ordered and capable of rapid transformation because their space-time activities are effectively linked. This coupling reduces the system to a single active degree of freedom, allowing for coherent action.

From an information perspective, the organism laser framework describes how continuous inputs of energy create negentropy, which can be seen as stored/mobilizable energy within the organism’s structure. Unlike an equilibrium system where energy levels are fixed, an open/nonequilibrium organism can distribute energy among an array of modes. At a certain threshold these modes merge into a coherent state and allow processes throughout the system to become phase-locked. In lasers, photons align their phases. In organisms, metabolic and informational flows align in a similar manner.

The coherent quantum state or pure state, in which many possibilities coexist, may underlie the organism’s ability to adapt rapidly. Living cells can display broad-spectrum photon emissions that can shift across orders of magnitude. This is reminiscent of how a laser’s spectral intensity can undergo sudden, large changes once coherence sets in. Although an organism’s “beam” is not purely electromagnetic, the principle of synchronized, collective dynamics is similar.

This coherence is what makes an organism more than a simple collection of biomolecules. By maximizing the potential degrees of freedom living systems permit rapid transitions between states while still maintaining a stable overall structure. Such stability emerges from the system’s capacity to remain far from thermodynamic equilibrium through continuous energy flux. The organism harnesses that flux to sustain coherence just as a laser sustains a single strong beam once a population of excited atoms locks together.

The organism laser describes the collective behavior of life as it continually redistributes energy and synchronizes internal processes. This single-degree-of-freedom condition is vital for the organism’s adaptability. It means that whether seen at the microscopic or macroscopic scale, the organism is not just storing energy but actively organizing it in a coherent quantum domain. This is the essence of living systems that sets them apart from inert forms of matter.

Further Reading:

Ho, M.-W. (2010). What is (Schrödinger's) Negentropy? Institute of Science in Society