Dynamic Polarization and Biology Available to Purchase

To gain insight into some biological processes in which a subsystem becomes ordered while gaining energy, an extremely simple physical process having these characteristics is analyzed. Each cycle of the process considered is formally the same as the description of the dynamic polarization of nuclei (Overhauser effect). In the biological process a crucial role is played by an “organizer,” a physical system which puts the subsystem of interest into improbable high-energy states. The role of the organizer, a close relative to the Maxwell demon, is played by the electron spin in the Overhauser effect. The role of feedback is investigated and relaxation times are evaluated in the Appendix.