Heatomics
Abstract
Living cells are energy- and information-processing systems that sustain a nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) by continuously consuming energy and dissipating heat, as required by the second law of thermodynamics. The rate of heat dissipation is closely related to the entropy production rate σ, a universal primal life signal and unique descriptor of the cellular state. Living matter dissipates Plife ∼ 1 Watt/kilogram (W/kg), a remarkably conserved value across scales, from molecular reactions to entire organisms. Surprisingly, this high power density is 104 times larger than that of the Sun and comparable to the universe's average, PU = c2 H0 ∼ 1 W/kg, where c is the speed of light and H0 is Hubble's constant, a striking coincidence reminiscent of Dirac's large number hypothesis. We surmise that this large Plife sets the bar for generating negentropy, which contributes negatively to the overall positive σ. Negentropy sustains biological organization, distinguishing animate from inanimate matter. Here, I introduce heatomics, the science of studying σ at the cellular and molecular scales, and the Variance Sum Rule, an experimental-theoretical framework that extracts σ from fluctuations of a dynamical probe combined with the equation of state for a NESS. The emerging field of heatomics aims to elucidate the fundamental principles governing heat power generation, optimization of energy resources, and negentropy in living systems.
BibTeX
@misc{ritort2026heatomics,
title = {{Heatomics}},
author = {F. Ritort},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.28720},
eprint = {2605.28720},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.28720},
note = {CC BY-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Heatomics
AU - F. Ritort
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.28720
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.28720
AB - Living cells are energy- and information-processing systems that sustain a nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) by continuously consuming energy and dissipating heat, as required by the second law of thermodynamics. The rate of heat dissipation is closely related to the entropy production rate σ, a universal primal life signal and unique descriptor of the cellular state. Living matter dissipates P_life ∼ 1 Watt/kilogram (W/kg), a remarkably conserved value across scales, from molecular reactions to entire organisms. Surprisingly, this high power density is 10^4 times larger than that of the Sun and comparable to the universe's average, P_U = c^2 H_0 ∼ 1 W/kg, where c is the speed of light and H_0 is Hubble's constant, a striking coincidence reminiscent of Dirac's large number hypothesis. We surmise that this large P_life sets the bar for generating negentropy, which contributes negatively to the overall positive σ. Negentropy sustains biological organization, distinguishing animate from inanimate matter. Here, I introduce heatomics, the science of studying σ at the cellular and molecular scales, and the Variance Sum Rule, an experimental-theoretical framework that extracts σ from fluctuations of a dynamical probe combined with the equation of state for a NESS. The emerging field of heatomics aims to elucidate the fundamental principles governing heat power generation, optimization of energy resources, and negentropy in living systems.
ER -