What is life? ;with, Mind and matter ; & Autobiographical sketches: the physical aspect of the living cell

196 Pages·2013·8.32 MB·english

by  Schrödinger

WHAT IS LIFE?
with
MIND AND MATTER
&
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES
This page intentionally left blank
WHAT IS LIFE?
The PhysicalAspectofthe Living Cell
with
MIND AND MATTER
&
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES
ERWIN SCHRODINGER
UCAMBRIDGE
. :J~ UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Cambridge University Press
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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
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Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107604667
What is Life?andMind and Matter
© Cambridge University Press 1967
WHAT IS LIFE?
First published 1944
Reprinted 1945, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1962
MINDANDMATTER
First published 1958
Reprinted 1959
Combined reprint 1967
Canto edition with Autobiographical Sketches and
Foreword to What is Life?by Roger Penrose
© Cambridge University Press 1992
First printed 1992
14th printing2013
Printed and bound by CPI GGroup ((UK) )Ltd, Croydon, cr 04yy
isbn 978-1-107-60466-7 Paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this
publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is,
or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Contents
WHAT IS LIFE?
Preface page
1
'
I THE CLASSICAL PHYSICISTS APPROACH
TO THE SUBJECT 3
The genercahla racatnerdt hep urposoeft hei nvestig-ation
Statistpihcyasli Tchse. f undamendtiaflf ereinnsc ter uct-ure
The naivpeh ysiciasptp'rso acthot hes ubje-cWth y aret he
atomsso s mal-lT?h e workinogfa no rganirsemq uireexsa ct
physiclaalw s-Physiclaalw rse sotn a tomisct atisatnidca sr e
therefoonrleya pproxima-tTeh eiprr ecisiisob na seodn t he
largneu mbeorf a tomisn terven1isnetgx .a mpl(ep aramagnet­
ism-) znde xampl(eB rownimaonv ementd,i ffus-io3nr)d
V
exampl(el imiotfas c curaocfmy e asuri-nTgh)e n rule
2 THE HEREDITARY MECHANISM '9
The classipchayls iciesxtp'esc tatfiaorfn r,o mb eintgr iviiasl ,
wrongT-he hereditcaordye -sc(rcihprto moso-meGsr)owth
oft heb odyb y celdli vision (m-iItons miist)o sis every
chromosoimsed uplicatReedd-uctidviev isi(omne iosis) and
fertiliz(astyinogna m-yH)a ploiidn dividuTahleso -utstand­
ingr elevaonfct eh er eductdiivvei s-ioCnrossing-oLvoecra.­
tioonf p ropertiMeasx-imums izoefa geneS-malnlu mbers
-Permanence
VI Contents
3 MUTATIONS 32
'Jump-lmiuktea't iso-nthew orking-groofun nadt ursaell ec­
tio-n Theyb reetdr uei,. et.h eya rep erfecitnlhye ri-ted
LocalizatRieocne.s siavnidtD yo minance- Introdsuocmien g
technilcaanlg ua-gTeh e harmfuelff ecotf c lose-bre-eding
Generaaln dh istorriceamla r-ksT he necessoiftm yu tation
beinag r areev en-tMutatioinnsd ucebdyX -raysF-irslta w.
Mutatiionsa singelvee ntS-econlda wL.o calizaotfit ohne
event
4 T H E Q U A N T U M -M E CV IH DA EN NI CC EA 4L6 E
Permanenucnee xplainbaybc llea ssipchayls i-csE xplicable
by quantumt heor-yQ uantumt heor-yd iscresttea t-es
quantujmu mp-s Molecul-eTsh eirs tabildietpye ndeonnt
temperat-uMraet hematiicnatle rl-udFei rsatm endmen-t
Seconadm endment
5 DELBRUCK'S MODEL DISCUSSED AND
TESTED 56
Theg enerpailc tuorfte h eh ereditsaurbys tanTchee-u nique­
nesso ft hep ictu-reS ome traditional misco-nceptions
Differen'ts tatoefsm 'a tte-r The distincttihoantr eally
matte-rsT he aperiodsiocl i-dT he varieotfyc ontents
compressiendt hem iniatucroed -e Compariswoint hf acts:
degreoef s tabildiitsyc;o ntinoufmi uttya tio-nSst abiloift y
naturaslellye ctgeedn e-sT he sometimes lsotwaebri loift y
mutant-sT emperatuirnefl uencuenss tabgleen else stsh an
stabolnee sH-ow X-raypsr oducmeu tati-oTnheierffi ciency
doesn otd ependo n spontaneomuust abil-itRye versible
mutations
6 ORDER, DISORDER AND ENTROPY 67
A remarkabgleen ercaol nclusfiroonm t hem ode-l Order
baseodn o rde-rL ivinmga tteerv adetsh ed ecatyo e quilib­
riu-mItf eedosn ' negateinvter o-pyW'hati se ntropyT?h-e
Contents VII
statistmiecaanli nogf e ntro-pyOrganizatmiaoinn tainbeyd
extract'ionrgd efrr'o mt hee nvironment
7 I S L I F E B0 NA TS HE ED W LS A0 F P H Y S? I C76 S
New lawst ob e expectiendt heo rgani-smR eviewitnhge
biologisciatlu at-iSounm marizitnhge p hysicsailt uat-ion
The strikcionngt r-asTtw o wayso fp roducionrgd erli-ness
The newp rinciipsln eo ta lietno p hysi-cTsh e motioonf a
cloc-kC lockwoarfkt earl ls tatis-tNiecranls tT'hse ore-m
The pendulucml ociks v irtuaaltlz ye rot emperat-uTrhee
relatbieotnw eecnl ockwoarnkdo rganism
E P I0 GL U .E 0 N D E T E R M I N I S M W AI NL DL 8F6 R E E
MIND AN D MATTE R
I THE PH Y SICA L ABS I S 0 F C0 N SCI0 USNE S S 93
Thep robleAm -tentatainvsew erE-thics
0
2 THE FUTURE OF UNDERSTANDING I3
A biologibclailna dl leyT?h-e apparegnlto oomf D arwinism
- Behavioiunrfl uencseesl ect-ioFne igneLda marcki-sm
Genetifci xatoifoh na bitasn ds kil-lDsa ngertsoi ntellectual
evolution
3 THE PRINCIPLEO F OBJECTIVATION IJ7
4 THE ARITHMETICAL PARADOX:
THE ONENESS OF MIND I28
0
5 SCIENCEA ND RELIGION I4
Contents
VIII
6 THE MYSTERY 0 F THE SENSUAL QUALITIES I5 3
AUT OBIOGRAPHI CA L SKET CHES r65
TranslabtyeS dc hrodgeirn'gsr anddaghuteVre rena