DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIVE DEGREE OF ORDER IN A CHAIN OF DIFFUSION-LINKED SELF-OSCILLATORS SIMULATING PERISTALSIS OF THIN TUBULES ACCORDING TO THE S-THEOREM CRITERION

The criterion of the relative degree of order (RDO) on the basis of th e S-theorem for a non-equilibrium system is applied to the analysis of the state of a chain of diffusion-linked self-oscillators, a system w hich models the peristalsis of thin tubules, e.g. in a biological tiss ue, as well as a number of physicochemical systems. It is shown that t he calculation of the RDO and of the effects of various actions on a n on-equilibrium system can be carried out efficiently without any knowl edge of the details of the local kinetics of the diffusion-link chain, said calculation being exploited for evaluating such effects just on the basis of experimental data. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.