Thermodynamic aspects of development for Tenebrio molitor L
Loehr, K.D.; Sayyadi, P.; Lamprecht, I.
Experientia 32(8): 1002-1003
1976
ISSN/ISBN: 0014-4754 PMID: 954999 Document Number: 99549
The respiratory rate and heat production of examples of Tenebrio molitor L. were measured throughout development at a temperature of 25 deg C with the aid of a Warburg apparatus and Calvet microcalorimeter, respectively, and related to the weights of the insects. According to classical thermodynamics, the entropy produced per unit weight can be divided into 2 terms, one (the external dissipation) representing dissipation to the surroundings, related to heat production, and the other (the bound dissipation) representing use within the organism, which is calculated from the difference between the total and the external dissipation. It was found that the bound dissipation was a maximum for the juvenile organism and decreased to zero during development and ageing, which is in accord with the thermodynamic theory of non-linear irreversible processes.