Physical Relationships among Matter, Energy and Information

Stuart A. Umpleby
Department of Management
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 2!2, USA
email" Umpleby#g$u.e%u
&ublishe% in Systems Research and Behavioral Science
'ol. 2(, )o. *, 2+, pp. *,-.*+2. An earlier version appeare% in
/obert Trappl 0e%.1 Cybernetics and Systems 04
'ienna" Austrian So2iety for Cyberneti2 Stu%ies, 2(
Physical Relationships Among Matter, Energy and Information
Stuart A. Umpleby
Department of Management S2ien2e
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 2!2, USA
email" Umpleby#g$u.e%u
Information is the difference that makes a difference.
Greory Bateson
Abstract
General systems theorists often refer to matter,
energy an% information as fun%amental
2ategories. The three 2on2epts 3 matter, energy
an% information 3 are relate% through s2ientifi2
la$s. Matter an% energy relations are more
thoroughly un%erstoo% than relations involving
information. At the level of %ata or signal
4%ifferen2e5 is suggeste% as a more elementary
term than 4information.5
1 asic Entities and the Relationships
among !hem
At least t$o previous 2ivili6ations venture% to %efine the
basi2 buil%ing blo27s of the universe. The an2ient Gree7s
believe% that the 2onstituents of the universe $ere earth,
air, fire, an% $ater. 8Aristotle, 9-!2: The Chinese
believe% that the basi2 elements $ere metal, $oo%, $ater,
fire, an% earth. 8Gao, 9-;!: Currently physi2ists
emphasi6e spa2e an% time. General systems theorists
often spea7 of matter, energy, an% information as
fun%amental 2ategories. <or e=ample >ames G. Miller?s
89-+;: living systems theory is base% on the i%ea that
2ells, organs, organisms, groups, 2orporations, nations,
an% supranational organi6ations all pro2ess matter,
energy, an% information. @n biologi2al systems 0e.g.,
2ells, organs, an% organisms1 matter an% energy are so
2losely relate% that they are often treate% as one entity 3
matterAenergy. A so2ial organi6ation su2h as a
2orporation pro2esses matter 0e.g., by transforming ra$
materials into finishe% pro%u2ts1, energy 0in2lu%ing the
fuel an% ele2tri2ity nee%e% to operate ma2hines an% heat
buil%ings1, an% information 0e.g., 2ustomer or%ers,
a%vertising messages, an% a22ounting re2or%s1.
Although matter an% energy have been the subBe2t of
s2ientifi2 investigation for several hun%re% years, a
s2ientifi2 2on2eption of information is relatively ne$. A
variety of %efinitions of information have been propose%.
Shannon 89-(-: %efine% information as a re%u2tion of
un2ertainty. Cateson 89-+2: %efine% information as Dthat
$hi2h 2hanges usD or Dthe %ifferen2e that ma7es a
%ifferen2e.D A 2ru2ial point is that information, unli7e
matter an% energy, is a fun2tion of the observer. 8von
<oerster, 9-+(: <or e=ample, the same message may
have %ifferent meanings for %ifferent people. Although
information reEuires the per2eption of a %ifferen2e, the
%ifferen2e $ill reEuire a matter or energy 2arrier 0e.g., a
page in a boo7 or soun% $aves in air1. @n a%%ition,
2ognition reEuires a nervous system.
@n 9-,+ at a panel %is2ussion at the University of
@llinois @ hear% /oss Ashby mention Cremermann?s limit.
Cremermann?s limit states a relationship bet$een matter
an% information. A relationship bet$een matter an%
energy ha% been propose% by Finstein 89-!:. A
2onne2tion bet$een energy an% information ha% been
%es2ribe% by S6ilar% 89-2-:. With a 2onne2tion
establishe% bet$een matter an% information, it appeare%
that the 2ontributions of Finstein, S6ilar%, an%
Cremermann imply that matter, energy, an% information,
on the level of atoms, are relate%. See <igure 9.
Matter
F G m2
2
Cremermann?s Himit
Fnergy Differen2e
F G h f

"igure 1. A triangle of relationships
Io$ are these basi2 2ategories .. matter, energy, an%
information .. relate%J Finstein 89-!: presente% a
relationship bet$een matter an% energy" F G m2
2
.
2
@n%ee%, physi2ists no$ regar% matter as another form of
energy.
Aroun% 9- &lan27 89-(-: observe% that
ele2tromagneti2 energy is not emitte% over a 2ontinuous
range but rather in bun%les or Euanta, the energies of
$hi2h are proportional to the freEuen2y of the ra%iation.
The e=pression F G h f means that the energy of a photon
is proportional to its freEuen2y. The 2onstant h is 2alle%
&lan27?s 2onstant. &lan27?s 2onstant also appears in the
eEuation that %efines the un2ertainty in observing
subatomi2 parti2les. The un2ertainty prin2iple formulate%
by Ieisenberg 89-*: states that an e=periment 2annot be
%evise% $hi2h simultaneously fi=es the momentum an%
the position of a parti2le $ith unlimite% pre2ision, but
only $ithin a momentum.position range $here &lan27Ks
2onstant %efines the limit of ho$ pre2ise an e=periment
2an be. Ien2e, h L Dm Dp.
S6ilar% 89-2-: sho$e% that there is a relationship
bet$een information an% energy. S6ilar% re2ogni6e% that
Ma=$ellKs %emon $oul% reEuire information in or%er to
sort high an% lo$ energy parti2les. Ie %emonstrate% that
the a2t of measuring the velo2ity of gas mole2ules $oul%
pro%u2e more entropy than the sorting pro2ess $oul%
remove.
Cremermann 89-,2, 9-,!: suggeste% that there is an
upper boun% on the rate at $hi2h symbols 2an be
pro2esse% by matter. They 2an be pro2esse% at spee%s
not e=2ee%ing CremermannKs limit of 9
(+
bitsAgramAse2.
CremermannKs limit is %erive% from the eEuations F G
m2
2
an% F G hf, $hen one photon is 2onsi%ere%
eEuivalent to one bit. 8Ashby, 9-,;: That is, 2ombining
the relationship bet$een matter an% energy $ith a
relationship bet$een energy an% information yiel%s a ne$
relationship bet$een matter an% information, at least at
the atomi2 level. Ashby use% Cremermann?s limit in
pointing out the %ramati2 physi2al impossibility of some
pattern re2ognition strategies use% in the early %ays of
artifi2ial intelligen2e. Ie urge% more attention to ho$
the human brain fun2tions.
@f $e 2onsi%er all the possible 2arriers of information,
it is 2lear that the relationship bet$een matter an% signal
is not 2ontinuous. The relationship %epen%s on the
material in $hi2h a pattern appears. That is, a pattern or
set of %ifferen2es 2an be observe% at the atomi2 level
0$here CremermannKs limit applies1, in mole2ules
0D)A1, 2ells 0neurons1, organs 0the brain1, groups
0norms1, an% so2iety 02ulture1.
# "rom $Information% to $&ifference%
An early formulation of the i%eas in this paper use% the
term 4information.5 8Umpleby, 9-+!: @n%ee% the $or7s
of S6ilar% an% Cremermann also use the term
4information.5 Cut be2ause of the 2omple=ities
intro%u2e% by having to spe2ify one or more observers,
the term 4information5 is not an elementary 2on2ept.
4Differen2e5 %enotes the elementary buil%ing blo27 of
%ata or signal or information. Ien2e, $hen %ealing $ith
physi2al foun%ations, @ believe it is preferable to spea7 in
terms of matter, energy an% %ifferen2e. To %efine terms,
a 4%ifferen2e5 is a physi2al entity that 2an be note% by an
observer. Dra$ing a 4%istin2tion5 is a purposeful a2t that
2reates t$o 2ategories.
S2ientists to%ay un%erstan% phenomena relate% to
matter an% energy more thoroughly than phenomena
relate% to information. &erhaps refle2ting on the physi2al
relationships among matter, energy an% information 2an
help natural s2ientists an% so2ial s2ientists un%erstan%
better the nature of their %is2iplines. Ffforts to apply the
metho%s of the natural s2ien2es to so2ial systems have le%
some people to 2on2lu%e that matter an% energy
relationships are the appropriate subBe2ts of attention for
so2ial s2ientists. Io$ever, in so2ial systems, %istin2tions
are essential. Cateson 89-+2: ma%e this point as follo$s"
0my 2olleagues in the behavioral s2ien2es1
have trie% to buil% the bri%ge to the $rong half
of the an2ient %i2hotomy bet$een form an%
substan2e. The 2onservative la$s for energy
an% matter 2on2ern substan2e rather than form.
Cut mental pro2ess, i%eas, 2ommuni2ation,
organi6ation, %ifferentiation, pattern, an% so
on, are matters of form rather than substan2e.
Within the bo%y of fun%amentals, that half
$hi2h %eals $ith form has been %ramati2ally
enri2he% in the last thirty years by the
%is2overies of 2yberneti2s an% systems theory.
' (onclusion
As 2ivili6ation has progresse% from agri2ultural so2ieties
to in%ustrial so2ieties to post.in%ustrial so2ieties, there
has been a shift of attention from matter to energy to
information. )o %oubt our s2ientifi2 7no$le%ge of
information $ill improve as information so2ieties
2ontinue to %evelop. This arti2le points out that signals,
%istin2tions, %ata, information, an% 2ommuni2ation
%epen% upon matter an% energy an% that a physi2al
%ifferen2e is a more elementary phenomenon than
information. Moreover, the triangle in <igure 9 is
2onsistent $ith the i%ea that observers an% the
%istin2tions they ma7e are the means $hereby the
substan2e of the universe be2omes a$are of itself.
Ac)no*ledgement
The %evelopment of these i%eas benefite% from
2onversations $ith Staffor% Ceer, &hilip M$en, Iein6
von <oerster, an% C. Sharp Coo7.
*
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(