ut. What we see when it is over is the last moment of fast constructal morphing before the channel gained dominance over the flow.
This is the end product of the constructal flow itself, after the last of its energy was dissipated and it could no longer move the earth and rocks to give itself more room to run. In the process, the river channel has evolved into a new configuration. Until a new flow returns, that configuration will persist, frozen into the landscape. The transition point when the channel freezes out of the flow is the boundary between flow and channel dominance. This is the moment when evolution is recorded, preserving the effects of energetic flows for the future. This is where design in nature is created. Flows that pass through that channel in the future will be influenced by the form of the channel created in the past. This is the basis of all sentient information systems.
Evolution can only be recorded at the boundary of flow and channel dominance. An atomic bomb is such an energetic flow that it instantly overwhelms life forms and destroys all record of them. A petrified tree surrenders its energetic flows and channels to the flows of the evolving rock over millennia, which stores their precipitated configuration for our possible later retrieval as information. They become part of a much longer term evolution of the rocks themselves, perhaps waiting a billion years to be subducted into the mantle for the next chapter of their evolutionary story. The channel-skeletons of the petrified wood which might have provided us with information are then overwhelmed by the energy from the molten interior of the earth and are lost forever. The Second Law prevails, even if it takes a long time.
All finite flow systems, for both universal and classical life, must evolve to survive, This evolution only takes place when the energy of the flow overcomes the constraints of the channel. If the flow energy is too large, the existing form of the channel will be obliterated. This is not a problem for universal life, as there are no “rules” or values on the evolution of the universe. If a star and all its planets gets gobbled up by a black hole, well so be it. However, it is a problem for classical life forms who have a certain affection for their continued existence.
All of the interesting action takes place around the inflection point between flow and channel dominance. This is the refinery that makes the universe what it is. This is what brings together the gold atoms for my wedding ring and makes conversation with my wife amusing.
180 million year old petrified trees at Curio Bay, New Zealand. Early in the process, flows of mineral-rich water invaded the soft structure of the tree, using their energy to morph their channel and gain access according to the Constructal Law. However, they were resisted by the cellulose of the cells in the tree. They gained access, but did not have the power to destroy the channel structure. Instead, they froze in place, preserving a “photograph” of the tree for our inspection 180 million years later.
We can begin to understand how this works by observing constructal flows on the beach. First, the tidal flow morphs the beach channel, (part of the larger ocean-basin channel) leaving a smooth surface, but with a very even layer of fine black sand deposited on the surface as the force of the wave and tidal flows expended its energy pushing the sand uphill. It receded, surrendering dominance to the beach channel.
What we notice first about the recording of the flows is that they are complex, but not at all random. The pattern of the channels follow physics principles which have been explored at length by Professor Bejan and his colleagues.
We can deduce that water flowing toward sea level in unseen channels within the sand suddenly gained kinetic energy due to a change in the slope of the beach. Soon it overwhelmed the binding forces of the sand, which defined the channel dominance of the underground flow regime. The flow morphed into a flowing river, using its newfound energy to carry away san