Transcript:

For any useful work to be done, energy first has to be transformed to be not in equilibrium.

Think about what happens in a battery. Energy is made to be not in equilibrium, and then when the positive and the negative terminals are connected in a loop, some useful work can be done along the loop.

The biggest loop that there is, is the one from the energy of the sun — when it hits the leaf, when it hits the chlorophyll molecule, it is made to be not in equilibrium by converting it into chemical energy. This sets a whole series in motion, and eventually, life happens. Unless this solar energy is made to be not in equilibrium by the leaf, life cannot happen.