Is the Second Law of Thermodynamics “Not” a Problem for Evolutionists?
“’Professor Dave’ argues that the origin of life does not face thermodynamic hurdles. He states that natural systems often spontaneously increase in order, such as water freezing or soap molecules forming micelles (e.g., spheres or bilayers).
He is making the very common mistake that he fails to recognize that the formation of a cell represents both a dramatic decrease in entropy and an equally dramatic increase in energy. In contrast, water freezing represents a decrease in entropy but also a decrease in energy.”
More specifically, the process of freezing releases heat that increases the entropy of the surrounding environment by an amount greater than the entropy decrease of the water molecules forming a rigid structure. Likewise, soap molecules coalescing into micelles represents a net increase of entropy since the surrounding water molecules significantly increase in their number of degrees of freedom.
No system without assistance ever moves both toward lower entropy and higher energy, which is required for the formation of a cell.”
-Brian Miller, Ph.D. from Episode 0/13: Reasons // A Course on Abiogenesis by Dr. James Tour, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71dqAFUb-v0&list=PLILWudw_84t2THBvJZFyuLA0qvxwrIBDr&index=2, accessed October 8, 2021.