Is there any information in inanimate nature, if you do not take into account the various techniques created by man? The answer to this question depends on the definition of the concept itself. The meaning of the term “information” throughout the history of mankind has been repeatedly supplemented. The definition was influenced by the development of scientific thought, technological progress and experience accumulated over the centuries. Information in inanimate nature is possible if we consider this phenomenon from the point of view of general terminology.
One of the options for defining the concept
Information in the narrow sense is a message transmitted in the form of a signal from person to person, from person to machine or from machine to machine, as well as in the plant and animal world from individual to individual. With this approach, its existence is possible only in living nature or in sociotechnical systems. These include, among others, such examples of information in inanimate nature in archeology as cave paintings, clay tablets, and so on. The information carrier in this case is an object that is clearly not related to living matter or technology, but without the help of the same person the data would not have been recorded and stored.
Subjective approach
There is another way of determining: information is subjective in nature and arises only in a person’s consciousness when he gives objects surrounding him, events, and so on with some meaning. This idea has interesting logical consequences. It turns out that if there are no people, there is no information, data and messages anywhere, including information in inanimate nature. Computer science in this version of the definition becomes the science of the subjective, but not the real world. However, we will not dig deep into this topic.
General definition
In philosophy, information is defined as an intangible form of movement. It is inherent in any object, since it has a certain meaning. Not far from this definition, the physical understanding of the term also goes away.
One of the basic concepts in the scientific picture of the world is energy. All material objects exchange it, and constantly. A change in the initial state of one of them causes changes in the other. In physics, a similar process is considered as signal transmission. The signal, in fact, is also a message transmitted by one object and received by another. This is information. According to a similar definition, the answer to the question asked at the beginning of the article is unambiguously positive. Information in inanimate nature is a variety of signals transmitted from one object to another.
The second law of thermodynamics
A shorter and more precise definition: information is a measure of system ordering. Here it is worth recalling one of the basic physical laws. According to the second law of thermodynamics, closed systems (those that do not interact in any way with the environment) always go from an ordered state to a chaotic one.
For example, let’s conduct a thought experiment: we place gas in one half of a closed vessel. After a while, it will fill in the entire amount provided, that is, it will cease to be ordered to the extent that it was. Moreover, the information in the system will decrease, since it is a measure of ordering.
Information and Entropy
It is worth noting that in the modern sense, the Universe is not a closed system. It is characterized by processes of complicating the structure, accompanied by an increase in orderliness, and hence the amount of information. According to the Big Bang theory, this has been the case since the formation of the Universe. Elementary particles first appeared, then molecules and larger compounds. Later stars began to form. All these processes are characterized by the ordering of structural elements.
Forecasting the future of the Universe is closely connected with these nuances. According to the second law of thermodynamics, thermal death awaits her as a result of an increase in entropy, a quantity opposite to information. It can be defined as a measure of the disorder of the system. The second law of thermodynamics says that in closed systems, entropy always grows. However, modern knowledge cannot give an exact answer to the question of how applicable it is to the entire Universe.
Features of information processes in inanimate nature in a closed system
All examples of information in inanimate nature are united by common features. This is a one-step process, the absence of a target, the loss of quantity in the source when increasing in the receiver. Consider these properties in more detail.
Information in inanimate nature is a measure of freedom of energy. In other words, it characterizes the ability of the system to do the work. In the absence of external influence, each time a chemical, electromagnetic, mechanical, or other work is performed, an irreversible loss of free energy, and with it information, occurs.
Features of information processes in inanimate nature in an open system
With external influence, a certain system may receive information or part of it lost by another system. In this case, the first appears the amount of free energy sufficient to complete the work. A good example is the magnetization of the so-called ferromagnets (substances that can under certain conditions be magnetized in the absence of an external magnetic field). They acquire a similar property as a result of a lightning strike or in the presence of other magnets. In this case, magnetization becomes a physical expression of the acquisition by the system of a certain amount of information. The work in this example will be carried out by a magnetic field. Information processes in this case are single-stage and have no purpose. The latter property distinguishes them more than others from similar phenomena in living nature. Individual fragments, for example, of the magnetization process, do not pursue any global goals. In the case of living matter, there is such a goal - this is the synthesis of a biochemical product, the transfer of hereditary material, and so on.
The law of non-increasing information
Another feature of the transmission of information in inanimate nature is that the increase in information in the receiver is always associated with the loss of it in the source. That is, in a system without external influence, the amount of information never increases. This position is a consequence of the law of non-decreasing entropy.
It should be noted that some scientists consider information and entropy as identical concepts with the opposite sign. The first is a measure of the ordering of the system, and the second is chaos. From this point of view, information becomes negative entropy. However, not all researchers of the problem adhere to this opinion. In addition, the thermodynamic and informational entropy should be distinguished. They are part of various scientific knowledge (physics and information theory, respectively).
Information in the microworld
He studies the topic "Information in inanimate nature" 8th grade school. Students at this point are still not very familiar with quantum theory in physics. However, they already know that material objects can be divided into macro- and microcosm. The latter is a level of matter where there are electrons, protons, neutrons and other particles. Here, the laws of classical physics are most often not applicable. Meanwhile, information exists in the microworld.
We will not delve into quantum theory, but it’s still worth noting a few points. In the microworld as such, entropy does not exist. However, even at this level, in the interaction of particles, free energy is lost, the one that is necessary for any system to perform work and the measure of which is information. If free energy decreases, so does information. That is, in the microcosm the law of non-growth of information is also observed.
Living and inanimate nature
Any examples of information in inanimate nature, studied in computer science in the eighth grade and not related to technology, are combined by the absence of a goal for which information is stored, processed and transmitted. For living matter, everything is different. In the case of living organisms, there is a primary purpose and intermediate. As a result, the entire process of obtaining, processing, transmitting and storing information is necessary for the transmission of hereditary material to descendants. Intermediate goals are to preserve it through a variety of biochemical and behavioral reactions, which include, for example, maintaining homeostasis and orientation behavior.
Examples of information in inanimate nature indicate the absence of such properties. Homeostasis, by the way, minimizes the consequences of the law of non-growth of information, which leads to the destruction of the object. The presence or absence of the described goals is one of the main differences between animate and inanimate nature.
So, you can find a lot of examples on the topic “information in inanimate nature”: pictures on the walls of ancient caves, computer work, growth of rock crystal crystals, and so on. However, if you do not take into account the information created by man (various images and the like) and technology, inanimate objects are very different in the properties of the information processes that occur in them. We list them again: single-stage, irreversibility, lack of purpose, inevitable loss of information in the source when transmitting it to the receiver. Information in inanimate nature is defined as a measure of system ordering. In a closed system in the absence of external influence of one kind or another, the law of non-growth of information is observed.