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This monograph presents a study of the emergence
of biological-type order in physical systems. The analysis
is carried out in terms of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics,
and kinetic theory. Systems undergoing energy flow from
a source to a sink are shown to undergo molecular rearrangements
to a more ordered state. The results of the physical analysis
are applied to the "origin of life" problem as
well as to present-day terrestrial ecology, and the thermodynamic
foundations of trophic ecology are analyzed.
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