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  • From: "Antonio Scotti" <antonio.scotti@tiscali.es>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] entropy and PC yields
  • Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 23:22:56 +0100

Hi there,
I wanted ask you guys a question which has been going on in my head for some time. And a couple of days ago when I re-read
"PC in a Nutshell" I found a reference to this same issue . So I thought I could ask the list for enlightment.
It is said or hint that a permaculture system can be able to produce more energy that it receives as its input.
In PC we cycle energy and nutrients and utilize them as many times as possible till they are in a state that cannot be utilized anymore.
Still at each energy transaction, the law of entropy states that part of the initial available energy goes lost forever. So even if we cycle and cycle the
same resource at each time part of its inherent energy must have gone lost. So if you have 10 calories to start with, on the second cycle you may have 9.5 if you are very efficient, and next one perhaps 8.9 and so on. But the overall available energy is diminishing at all times. Does PC "infringe" the law of entropy? In which respect it is possible to produce more energy than the one received in input?
 
Please enlighten me!
All the best
 
Antonio



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