What did Lotka really say? A critical reassessment of the “maximum power principle”

Enrico Sciubba

Ecological Modelling, 2011, vol. 222, issue 8, 1347-1353

Abstract: This paper presents a critical discussion of the so-called “maximum power principle”, often quoted in studies about the energy balance of living systems and also known in the emergy literature as “maximum em-power principle”. Several authors consider this principle highly relevant and some even proposed it as a “fourth law of thermodynamics”. A critical analysis of the original source, namely Alfred Lotka's 1921–22 papers, conducted both in an historical perspective (the connection between Lotka's writings and the ongoing debate at his time) and in a more modern context, leads to a more detailed and less biased assessment. It turns out that in spite of Lotka's very anticipatory and incredibly sharp vision of the possible interconnections between the second law of thermodynamics and evolutionism, doubts arise about the general applicability of his “maximum power principle”. From an accurate analysis of his writings, it can be concluded that: (a) Lotka explicitly and consistently addressed the “optimal use” of the flow of exergy (available energy), and therefore the quantity defined as “em-power” is an incorrect interpretation of Lotka's constrained maximum power principle; (b) “Lotka's principle” can be reformulated within Ziegler's “maximum entropy production” or Prigogine “minimum entropy generation” paradigm only under two different respective sets of rather stringent additional conditions which Lotka was probably already aware of but never explicitly stated.

Keywords: Lotka; Maximum power principle; Exergy; Entropy generation minimization; Evolution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:222:y:2011:i:8:p:1347-1353

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2011.02.002

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