Thermodynamics of Morphogenesis: Beading and Branching Pattern Formation in Diffusion-Driven Salt Finger Plumes
Spontaneous pattern formation is a universal phenomenon that occurs in purely physical systems, biology, and human societies. Salt fingering due to differential diffusion of heat and salt in seawater is a typical example, although the general principle that governs pattern formation remains unknown....
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Entropy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/2/106 |
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| Summary: | Spontaneous pattern formation is a universal phenomenon that occurs in purely physical systems, biology, and human societies. Salt fingering due to differential diffusion of heat and salt in seawater is a typical example, although the general principle that governs pattern formation remains unknown. We show through simple experiments injecting a salt solution into a sucrose solution of equal density that a salt finger exhibits characteristic pattern transitions depending on the injection flow rate. When the rate increases, a linear finger starts meandering, branching, and multiple branching, whereas when the rate is decreased, it produces a beading pattern. These morphological instabilities and associated pattern formation are caused by a local accumulation of kinetic energy that minimizes the flow resistance and maximizes the energy dissipation in the final steady state. We suggest that this energy accumulation mechanism governs a wide variety of pattern formation phenomena in non-equilibrium systems, including morphogenesis of abiotic protocells. |
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| ISSN: | 1099-4300 |