Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2022

DOI

10.31275/20222517

Publication Title

Journal of Scientific Exploration

Volume

36

Issue

3

Pages

487-495

Abstract

Recently, our work has identified two thermodynamically distinct types (A and B) of energetic processes naturally occurring on Earth. Type-A energy processes such as the classical heat engines, ATP hydrolysis, and many of the known chemical, electrical, and mechanical processes apparently follow well the second law of thermodynamics; Type-B energy processes, for example, the newly discovered thermotropic function that isothermally utilizes environmental heat energy to do useful work in driving ATP synthesis, follow the first law of thermodynamics (conservation of mass and energy) but do not have to be constrained by the second law, owing to its special asymmetric functions. In mitochondria, special asymmetric functions associated with Type-B processes comprise: 1) Transmembrane-electrostatic proton localization; 2) The transmembrane asymmetry of inner mitochondrial membrane structure with the protonic outlets of redox-driven proton-pumping protein complexes protruded away from the membrane surface by about 1–3 nm into the bulk liquid p-phase while the protonic inlet of the F0F1-ATP synthase located at the transmembrane-electrostatically localized proton (TELP) layer; and 3) The lateral asymmetry of mitochondrial cristae with an ellipsoidal shape that enhances the density of TELP at the cristae tips where the F0F1-ATP synthase enzymes are located in support of the TELP-associated thermotrophic function. The identification of Type-B energy processes indicates that there is an entirely new world of physical and energy sciences yet to be fully explored. Innovative efforts exploring Type-B processes to enable isothermally utilizing endless environmental heat energy could help liberate all people from their dependence on fossil fuel energy, thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas CO2 emissions and control climate change, with the goal of a sustainable future for humanity on Earth.

Rights

© 2022 both author and journal hold copyright.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

Original Publication Citation

Lee, J. W. (2022). Type-B energetic processes and their associated scientific implications. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 36(3), 487-495. https://doi.org/10.31275/20222517

ORCID

0000-0003-2525-5870 (Lee)

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