Thermodynamic theory of stability, structure and fluctuations

The development of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes is outlined with a review of recent work and a discussion of the application of these concepts to physicochemical, biological and hydrodynamic phenomena. The extension of local thermodynamics to include a theory of stability and of fluctuations receives attention. The author concludes with remarks on the stability properties of chemical reactions in open systems and comments on the possible implications of results in the interpretation of fundamental biological phenomena.