Maximum power principle

Maximum Power Principle in Energy Systems Language adapted from Odum and Odum 2000, p. 38

The maximum power principle or Lotka's principle[1] has been proposed as the fourth principle of energetics in open system thermodynamics. According to American ecologist Howard T. Odum, "The maximum power principle can be stated: During self-organization, system designs develop and prevail that maximize power intake, energy transformation, and those uses that reinforce production and efficiency."[2]

  1. ^ Tilley, David Rogers (2004). "Howard T. Odum's contribution to the laws of energy" (PDF). Ecological Modelling. 178 (1–2): 121–125. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2003.12.032.
  2. ^ H.T. Odum 1995, p. 311