The Magic Sun

THE MAGIC SUN

 Robert L. Neulieb Ph.D. And Marilyn K. Neulieb M.S.

Barren and molten, the new planet earth first orbited the sun four to five billion years ago. Even after the crust solidified and the depressions filled with water, this barrenness persisted. Chemical elements and simple compounds were randomly scattered on the surface. Organization of the elements into complex organic compounds was unknown.

The creation of life over two billion years ago and its subsequent evolution has produced myriads of complex organic compounds from these scattered elements. This creation converted barrenness into living oceans, majestic forests, lush prairies, diverse and productive estuaries and lowlands; it even vegetated the deserts. Hardly a place on earth has been immune from the effects of life. The earth's surface has been transformed from dust, rock and sterile water into life-sustaining soil and seas. The randomly scattered elements of the crust have been ordered into the complex chemistry of life, the delicate petals of flowers, the human brain and numerous living organisms.

Man, too, has created order as exemplified by large cities, complex transportation networks, and facilities for power generation and transmission. But man's work is usually accompanied by disorderly by-products. The barrenness of many strip mines, discussions of creating large areas of national sacrifice in the West to facilitate shale oil production, and the still-denuded mountainsides in parts of Europe which the Romans exploited for timber for ships are just a few of the expanding reminders that man's order has brought disorder. The obsolete, worn, and discarded products of man have not become the foundations of new, more complex products, but rather of junk yards, air pollution and landfills. It is said that trash is man's monument to order.

Waste is an abundant product of natural systems, too. Like the works of man, all living organisms produce waste during life and eventually become waste upon death. Some forests and grasslands produce eighty-five pounds of solid waste per^, acre each active year. Yet nature doesn't have trash heaps. This trash becomes an integral part of present and future order. New plants grow from fallen trees-trees which will soon become soil. Thus, even more life will be supported.

Scientists are beginning to understand why man's attempts to create order seemingly create disorder and why attempts to correct this disorder may, in turn, create even greater disorder. The Second Law of Thermodynamics tells us precisely that net disorder will result from the conversion of energy from one form to another such as chemical or electrical to kinetic or its maintenance . In any system involving energy exchange, there is always created more disorder than order. The net result of the conversion of energy must be the creation of disorder. Yet, natural systems have seemingly repealed this law.  What magic do the natural systems possess? Can man learn the secret?

       The magic is in the sun. The natural systems have not repealed the Second Law of Thermodynamics. They simply utilize the only source of energy readily available on earth that is free of the necessity of causing disorder on earth. Oh yes, the Second Law states more disorder than order is created through the generation and use of the energy in the natural systems. However, much of the disorder can be confined to the sun, the magic sun.         Thus, net order can be created on earth.    In contrast, in recent years man has concentrated primarily on earth-based energy sources. The creation of disorder, at least initially, has also occurred on the earth.This disorder, as it must, has exceeded the order created.

Disorder, such as that caused by strip mining, cannot be corrected by man alone. But with proper planning, man can encourage the sun. The evolutionary process of restoration which is driven by the sun's energy can be shortened when the topsoil is preserved and the water is protected from contamination. In essence, man cannot create net order on earth. This role is reserved for the sun. Man can only assist.

The sun not only has provided and continues to provide the energy for the establishment, development, maintenance and restoration of living processes, but it also provides energy to preserve the order of cycles vital to life. One such cycle is the water cycle which involves the separation of freshwater from saltwater. Many organisms, including man, depend on this separation, this creation of order. The winds driven by the sun's energy disperse this freshwater along with oxygen and carbon dioxide to living organisms around the globe.

With study, ingenuity and determination, the sun's energy may serve many of our needs. Technologies to capture the winds and radiant solar energy are emerging. However, there is no assurance that the use of solar energy will create order on the earth. For millions of years, fires in prairies and forests alike have been started by lightning from sun-driven storms. The magic sun has repeatedly converted prairies and forests into a disordered scattering of ashes. The sun can work its magic for man, but it comes with no guarantees, only opportunities.