Electric-Field-Induced Lamellar Structures in Magnetic Fluids – A 2d Diffusion Model

Riley, Brett; Bhattacharya, Aniket; Johnson, Michael D.; Duan, Xidong; Luo, Weili

doi:10.1142/9789812777546_0058

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…The dynamical aggregates, whose components interact via weak reversible complementary dipolar forces, are analogous to living systems with distributed control and whose components dissipate homogeneous sources of energy. Other than such magnetic field-induced aggregation – likely a second order phase-transition (Taketomi, 2011 ) – magnetic dispersions can also be ordered by other coherent sources, e.g., light (Köhler and Hoffmann, 2003 ), and electric field (Duan and Luo, 2001 ; Riley et al, 2002 ). This expands the scope of field-control for access to scaffolds that could have been present in a variety of pre-biotic environments.…”

Section: Field-controlled Scaffold Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field-Control, Phase-Transitions, and Life’s Emergence

Mitra-Delmotte¹,

Mitra²

2012

Front. Physio.

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Instances of critical-like characteristics in living systems at each organizational level (bio-molecules to ecosystems) as well as the spontaneous emergence of computation (Langton), do suggest the relevance of self-organized criticality (SOC). But extrapolating complex bio-systems to life’s origins, brings up a paradox: how could simple organics – lacking the “soft-matter” response properties of today’s complex bio-molecules – have dissipated energy from primordial reactions (eventually reducing CO2) in a controlled manner for their “ordering”? Nevertheless, a causal link of life’s macroscopic irreversible dynamics to the microscopic reversible laws of statistical mechanics is indicated via the “functional-takeover” of a soft magnetic scaffold by organics (c.f. Cairns-Smith’s “crystal-scaffold”). A field-controlled structure offers a mechanism for boot-strapping – bottom-up assembly with top-down control: its super-paramagnetic colloidal components obey reversible dynamics, but its dissipation of magnetic (H)-field energy for aggregation breaks time-reversal symmetry. The responsive adjustments of the controlled (host) mineral system to environmental changes would bring about mutual coupling between random organic sets supported by it; here the generation of long-range correlations within organic (guest) networks could include SOC-like mechanisms. And, such cooperative adjustments enable the selection of the functional configuration by altering the inorganic dipolar network’s capacity to assist a spontaneous process. A non-equilibrium dynamics could now drive the kinetically oriented system (trimming the phase-space via sterically coupled organics) toward a series of phase-transitions with appropriate organic replacements “taking-over” its functions. Where available, experiments are cited in support of these speculations and for designing appropriate tests.

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Section: Field-controlled Scaffold Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%