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How Many Hectares Per Tesla? - Revisiting C V Seshadri’s Shakthi Concept

V Balaji
14 min read

V Balaji


Abstract

This paper revisits the pioneering contribution of the late Professor C.V. Seshadri, specifically his proposal of Shakthi as a parameter for optimising resource utilisation across food, ecology, energy, and economic systems. Shakthi, envisioned as an integrative metric combining energy and mass, aimed to align resource allocation with sustainable practices in nutrition, industry, and environmental management. While Seshadri’s groundbreaking ideas remained incomplete during his lifetime and have not been followed up for decades, their relevance to contemporary challenges in energy and resource management is undeniable. This study advocates for a multidisciplinary approach to augment and advance the Shakthi concept, drawing inspiration from successful coordinated technological initiatives such as India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which redefined digital financial ecosystems through innovation and collaboration. By leveraging advancements in energy studies—particularly the establishment of national reference standards in Japan and China—and contextualising them within India’s ecological and resource landscape, this paper makes a proposal for a pathway for operationalising Shakthi. Such an initiative would not only address critical gaps in resource management but also serve as a fitting tribute to Seshadri’s legacy.


The link between popular notions of energy and lifestyle choices, epitomized by the Tesla electric car as a symbol of aspirational living, raises an intriguing question: What does this have to do with the measurement of land?


This question underscores a fundamental principle explored in the works of the late Professor C V Seshadri (referred to as CVS). In 1986, CVS published a monograph titled "How Many Hectares per Catamaran?", offering a comparative analysis of land utilization for sourcing materials—wood from forests versus high-density polyethylene produced from alcohol derived from sugarcane (M16, 1986).


CVS's exploration of the nexus between land, energy, biomass, and ultimately, food, emerged from his publications between 1977 and 1982, a period when energy was increasingly viewed as a critical economic parameter, akin to money. Following the 1973 oil crisis, significant efforts were made to position energy as a key tool for economic analysis in both industry and policy-making. The American Institute of Physics' 1975 publication on "The More Efficient Utilization of Energy" (AIP, 1975) and Howard Odum's mid-70s proposals of "net energy analysis" are notable milestones in this context (Odum 1977). CVS's own research sought to identify a unifying parameter for different forms of energy and their qualities, aiming to optimize the mix of food, fodder, and fuel crops on a given hectare of land—a question of particular relevance in the Indian context. His concept of Shakthi, a new parameter that combines the characteristics of energy and mass, emerged as a principal idea.


In three key publications, CVS analyzed energy and mass flows in industrial processes, such as coal-fired power production, and the recovery of useful energy as biomass. He introduced Shakthi in two papers from 1977 and 1980, respectively identified as M1 and M7, and further elaborated on this concept in a 1982 publication (M11). This work, drawing on contemporary advances in cell biology and cosmology, highlighted the innovative integration of processes across thermal, chemical, and biochemical engineering for recovery of nutritious substances from lost energy. We believe these foundational ideas remain highly relevant for the broader national agenda today.


Despite the lack of further development in subsequent years, parallel advancements in thermal and chemical engineering in Japan (since 1982) and the People's Republic of China (since 1994) have addressed some of the challenges. These developments, resulting in national standards, are based rigorous academic and industrial research.


By synthesising recent insights on the scalability of thermodynamic laws and innovative methods for grading energy quality across various processes, we can revisit and extend CVS's Shakthi concept. This approach honours his legacy but also propels his ideas into contemporary applications for the greater good.



Irreversible Loss of Energy: A Flawed Reliance on the Second Law of Thermodynamics?

 

The teaching of science often imbues students with a belief in the infallibility of the Laws of Thermodynamics, leading policymakers and planners to rely heavily on these principles and the expertise derived from them. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, which posits irreversibility as a fundamental aspect of classical physics, is held in near-sacred regard. Arthur Eddington, a renowned physicist and science communicator, famously stated that skepticism towards the Second Law should disqualify one from the field of science (Eddington, 1929). Echoing this sentiment, textbook author Peter Atkins (2007) hailed the Second Law as an "all-time great law," essential for understanding why anything happens at all.


The foundation of thermodynamics, as taught today, is largely built on the contributions of William Thompson (Lord Kelvin), Rudolph Clausius, and Wilhelm Helmholtz. These scientists, leaders in their respective countries, formulated the first two laws of thermodynamics, integrating the work of Sadi Carnot and the speculative theories of Jules Meyer. Clausius introduced the concept of "entropy," summarising the laws with the principle that "in an isolated system, energy is conserved while entropy tends towards the maximum." There are several different formulations available now (Truesdell, 1980).  Kelvin's interpretation of the universe as an isolated system led to the grim prediction of a "heat death," where uniform temperature would render work impossible, also serving as a theological argument for a finite time for creation of the universe (Larmor, 1908).


Despite their significant contributions, the universal and unilinear increase of entropy proposed by Kelvin and Clausius faced skepticism. The prevailing scientific paradigm favored symmetry, suggesting that phenomena should be reversible if time's direction were hypothetically reversed. Clerk Maxwell and Ludwig Boltzmann introduced statistical reasoning to explain entropy increase in isolated systems, proposing that systems naturally evolve from order to disorder. However, this statistical approach, based on thought experiments and undefined concepts, has been critiqued for its foundational assumptions.


Notably, several Nobel laureates, including Leon Cooper (Physics, 1990), Lev Landau (Physics, 1962), and Ilya Prigogine (Chemistry, 1983), have expressed skepticism about the concept of entropy. Arieh Ben-Naim, a physical chemist, has challenged the notion of entropy as the "arrow of time," arguing that it does not necessarily follow from thermodynamic laws (Ben-Naim, 2017).


Despite these critiques, the concept of entropy and its derivatives, such as Exergy—a measure of work potential in a process—remain central to engineering practices. Stephen Berry, a pioneer in energy analysis, acknowledged the indispensable nature of these concepts, despite their foundational shortcomings (2019). The global economy's reliance on energy and exergy measurement for efficiency improvements underscores the practical importance of thermodynamic principles, even as their conceptual foundations are debated.


Carnot's work on heat engines introduced the concept of a theoretical cycle that maximises efficiency of conversion from heat to mechanical work, which influenced later understandings of entropy in thermodynamic processes. CVS’ theories explore the integration of biological systems into traditional thermodynamic models. His innovative proposal, presented as a thought-experiment in M11, considers a modified Carnot cycle that includes biological components like trees, which convert solar energy into biomass. This approach suggests a novel interaction between biological mass production and energy conversion systems, potentially offering a way to offset energy losses typically associated with entropy in conventional systems. This model challenges the classical notion of isolated systems in thermodynamics by demonstrating how incorporating living organisms can lead to a practical redefinition of system boundaries and efficiencies.



Policy Discussions About Energy: The Importance of Energy Quality

 

The acceptance of the Second Law of Thermodynamics has led to the classification of energy forms and sources within an economy based on their quality. Electricity, for instance, is deemed high-quality energy because it can theoretically be converted entirely into organized motion. This perspective often leads policymakers to equate energy solely with electricity—a viewpoint exemplified by the Tamil Nadu government's Energy Department website, which offers this opening sentence: "Electricity is the critical infrastructure for the sustainable growth of any economy” (https://www.tn.gov.in/dept_profile.php?dep_id=Nw==).


The American Institute of Physics provided a definition of energy quality in 1975, asserting that motion, particularly organised motion like the flow of water in a dam, represents the highest quality of energy. Consequently, electricity, with its potential for full conversion into motion, is categorised as a high-quality energy form. Conversely, heat at ambient temperature is considered low-quality energy due to its limited convertibility into organized motion without substantial energy input. These concepts, still integral to standard educational curricula, suggest that energy at environmental temperature and pressure lacks the potential for work extraction, rendering it a "dead state." However, CVS challenged these notions, pointing out the massive transfer of water vapor across oceans during monsoons at ambient temperatures, questioning if this truly constitutes low-quality energy (M11).


The hierarchical classification of energy sources is crucial for policy and administrative decisions, as illustrated by the Tamil Nadu example. The prevalent prioritisation of electricity and petroleum reflects a longstanding hierarchy influenced by concepts dating back approximately 50 years. This grading system hinges on the measured values of energy changes, underscoring the significance of measurement conventions and reference values in the interplay between energy dynamics and economic considerations. All energy measurements aim to quantify changes rather than absolute values, necessitating reference standards for comparison. Leading institutions like the US National Institute of Standards and Technology have published reference values extensively used in industry and academia. As discussed later, the ability to influence the establishment of these reference standards is a key factor in maintaining global leadership in energy science and practice.



Energy Quality and Thermodynamics: A Hierarchical Perspective

 

Thermodynamics is considered an "exact science" under ideal conditions, characterised by "infinitesimal" and "reversible" changes. However, since these conditions are unattainable in practice, engineering scientists have developed various models as approximations to inform practical applications. These models significantly influence how measurements of changes in energy, entropy, or exergy are conducted. Reference values, as previously discussed, play a crucial role in determining efficiency measurements, thereby affecting relative competitiveness in global trade and industry.


Japan's industrial productivity in the 1960s and 1970s was a key factor in its success in global trade. A comparative study by the US National Academy of Sciences in 1997, examining industrial productivity in Japan and the USA over two decades starting from the 1960s, found that productivity increases in Japan were significantly higher than in the USA, sometimes by an order of magnitude (NAS, 1997). Engineers, industry managers, and policymakers in Japan, aiming for systematic productivity enhancements, acknowledged the complexities of applying thermodynamics in practice. In response, they proposed National Standards for Exergy Analysis, adopting reference values for the environment based on the work of Kameyama and colleagues (1982). This work revised the "international" measurements previously accepted in Japan. Furthermore, it was suggested that thermodynamics should be viewed through a hierarchical lens, encompassing systems, flows, and substances. Masaru Ishida, through his research, detailed these hierarchies and their practical applications. Notably, his work included the development of "energy equivalent" parameters, akin to CVS's concept of Shakthi, and introduced "energy grade" as a complement to energy quality, showcasing their application in process efficiency improvements via "Energy Utilisation Diagrams" (EUD) (2000). Ishida also authored a thermodynamics textbook to mainstream these concepts and methodologies in 2002.


Following Japan's lead, engineering scientists and policymakers in the People's Republic of China (PRC) introduced their own National Standards for Exergy Analysis in 1994, with updates every decade, the latest in 2021 (Chen et al 2022). They expanded the concept of "energy grade" to encompass energy quality and have extensively applied EUDs in efficiency enhancements. The view that thermodynamics cannot be scaled for complexity is now a mainstream notion in two major global economies. The ongoing debate between advocates of the "international" system for environmental reference states and supporters of Kameyama's system, first highlighted by Szargut in 1989 and revisited in 2012, remains a point of contention (Le Corre, 2016). Essentially, our measurements and designs for energy efficiency improvements rely on conventions we trust, much like how we accept the exchange values of currencies based on trust. While this may seem like a digression, it sets the stage for a further exploration.



Redefining Energy Quality: The Sun as the Primary Source

 

The traditional engineering approach, which relies on thermal physics to enhance process design and efficiency, falls short in addressing ecosystem processes. This approach is based on the principle that in any process, the available energy for work, or exergy, is irreversibly lost, whether the loss is trivial or substantial. However, ecologists, observing growth and regeneration in biota, necessitated a different perspective. Howard Odum, a pioneer in systems ecology, introduced in his 1988 paper a framework that emphasizes the conversion of the sun's energy into various products. Beyond the common flows and substances recognized in thermal and chemical engineering thermodynamics, Odum introduced the concept of "storages." From this viewpoint, coal is seen as a long-term storage of solar energy, whereas food represents a storage over a shorter timescale, with their storage values differing by orders of magnitude. This approach elegantly addresses a contradiction highlighted by CVS in M11: food, despite having a lower calorific value than coal, cannot be burned in a furnace for energy, nor can coal be consumed for nutrition.


Odum further expanded this framework by considering "information" as a form of solar energy storage, but at an even higher magnitude. A living cell, with its highly organized DNA, stores solar energy at a value far exceeding that of food substances. Through his concept of "solar transformity" and storage, Odum proposed a new hierarchy of energy quality. According to this hierarchy, a DNA molecule's storage capacity is 10^15 times greater than that of coal. Utilising a unit called eMergy, Odum calculated the transformity values for a wide array of storages. Contrasting with the AIP-derived energy quality gradation, Odum's ranking positions organized motion in an intermediate tier, while attributing a much higher grade to living cells.


Odum's methodology has found frequent application in systems ecology and has been applied to area studies aiming at a deeper understanding of the eMergy load exerted by systems such as dairy farms or urban habitats on the environment. Despite its utility, the adoption of transformity-based energy quality assessments at the ecology-economy interface has not yet reached the widespread acceptance that classical energy quality frameworks have achieved within the energy-economy nexus.



Shakthi: Bridging the Food-Ecology-Energy-Economy Continuum

 

The concept of energy quality has been recognised as critical in guiding resource allocation and investment decisions. One widely referenced hierarchy, established by the American Institute of Physics in 1974, has influenced the prioritization of energy use, often placing the food sector at a lower level of importance. Another analytical framework employs the notion of “transformity,” measuring the solar energy required to produce various forms of biomass and other energy carriers in terms of embedded energy, or “eMergy.” While this latter approach aligns with certain visions of unifying diverse measures of energy quality, it has not achieved broad international acceptance.


In parallel developments, researchers in Japan have long understood the importance of controlling reference values in energy measurements. Since 1982, they have established and refined national reference standards, modifying concepts such as exergy analysis to enhance industrial and manufacturing efficiencies. Inspired by this work, the People’s Republic of China has developed its own standards, further advancing the concept of energy quality through nationally defined measurement frameworks.


India now has an opportunity to integrate these approaches. By combining the solar transformity methodology with the establishment of its own national reference standards for energy measurements, India could compute eMergy values based on parameters tailored to its ecological conditions—an innovation neither Japan nor China has undertaken. While formulating such standards to reflect India’s unique environments and ecosystems may be time-consuming, it could enable the measurement of resource use in novel ways. For example, it could quantify the land area required for automotive production or the water volume needed for synthesising fertilizers. Such data would inform improvements in process efficiencies, particularly in food and biomass production, and suggest how distinct processes can be integrated to enhance overall productivity. A solar energy farm relying predominantly on silicon-based technologies, for instance, might also serve as a major source of food production.


Over four decades ago, CVS initiated a critical dialogue on the limitations of using energy as a primary parameter in resource allocation. This discourse challenged the prevailing emphasis on mechanical motion as the most valuable outcome of energy conversion processes and coincided with Japan’s development of national standards for exergy analysis. These standards, intended to improve manufacturing efficiencies and secure competitive advantages, contributed to the emergence of “hierarchies of thermodynamics” and the wider use of “energy utilisation diagrams.” Although these developments were not widely known in India at the time, they set a precedent for more nuanced approaches to energy measurements which are at the root of efficiency improvements.


CVS proposed the concept of Shakthi as a potential engineering parameter that integrates economic, energy, and nutritive values into decision-making processes. Shakthi would serve as a new scientific parameter, expressed in energy-based dimensions derived from a reinterpreted principle of mass-energy equivalence. By understanding the relationships among Shakthi, mass, energy, and information, it may become possible to apply these considerations to both inanimate systems and living organisms more effectively.


To operationalize Shakthi, linking it to Howard Odum’s concept of Transformity may provide a viable starting point. However, as evidenced by the efforts undertaken in Japan and, subsequently, in China, establishing such a framework would require a concerted and large-scale national initiative to generate suitable reference values for energy measurements within India’s own environmental context. This approach should prioritise the development of indigenous datasets and methodologies rather than relying on standardized “handbooks” published by OECD countries which are meant to assert the supremacy of particular hierarchies as understood in Japan and Communist China.


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There is an evident question as to whether Shakthi can be effectively established as a mainstream parameter across multiple disciplines. India’s recent experience with digital payment systems, notably the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), suggests that is indeed possible. By 2023, India’s UPI-based transactions accounted for nearly half of all global digital financial exchanges. This success was achieved by operating outside traditional financial structures, thereby circumventing established interests without direct confrontation. Such an approach demonstrates the potential of adopting strategies that avoid entrenched international frameworks, and the same principle can guide efforts to incorporate Shakthi into both development of national priorities in resource management and practical applications.


Revisiting the initial inquiry, it is useful to refine the question: how much Shakthi, derived from land-based solar transformities, is required to produce an automobile with minimal environmental impact? In other words, what is the appropriate quantum of land-based Shakthi per vehicle? By applying Shakthi as a guiding metric, decision-makers can more effectively determine how to allocate land and water resources between essential functions such as food production and manufacturing. This approach not only supports the conservation of the planet’s resources and enhances national security, but also establishes a conceptual linkage between the Sun—the source of all Order in Dharma—and Bhoomi, the source of all prosperity. In this manner, Shakthi can provide an integrative parameter that goes beyond the limitations of traditional energy and financial metrics.



About the author:


From 1983 to 1989, Dr. V. Balaji served as a research assistant at the Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre in Madras (now Chennai), where he worked under the late Professor C.V. Seshadri’s guidance and focused on energy studies. He was associated with the PPST Group as well as with the Centre for Policy Studies. In his later work, he has focused on development of technology in support of people and communities living and working in resource-limited contexts and locations in different regions in India, sub–Saharan Africa and the smaller islands in the Pacific. His publications, few in number, are not relevant to the present context and readership. His current research, audience-less, is a study of the corpus of scholar and poet Mu Ka Muruganar (1893?- 1973) who was the foremost exponent of Bhakti-Vedanta in many generations.



Further Readings on C V Seshadri and his work




References cited.


Note: Publications of CVS are cited with “M” as the starting letter which stands for “Monograph on Engineering of Photosynthetic Systems (MEPS)”, a series published by Murugappa Chettiar Research Center (MCRC), Madras.


  • M1: Seshadri, C V. 1977. A total energy and total materials analysis.


  • M7: Seshadri, C V. 1980. Energy in the Indian context.


  • M11: Seshadri, C V. 1982. Development and thermodynamics.


  • M16: Seshadri, C V. 1986. How many hectares per catamaran?


  • American Institute of Physics. (1975). “Technical aspects of the more efficient utilization of energy”. American Institute of Physics Conference Series, 25.




  • Berry, R. S. (2019). Three laws of nature: A little book on thermodynamics. Yale University Press.


  • Chen, R., Xu, W., Deng, S., Zhao, L., Zhao, R., Yin, W., Jiao, L., & Liu, Z. (2022). Energy quality and energy grade: Concepts, applications, and prospects. Oxford Open Energy, 1(1), 1-16.




  • Ishida, M. (2000). Hierarchical structures in thermodynamics. Applied Energy, 67, 221-230.


  • Ishida, M. (2002). Thermodynamics made comprehensible. Nova Publishing.


  • Kameyama, K., Yoshida, K., Yamauchi, S., & Fueki, K. (1982). Evaluation of reference exergies for the elements. Applied Energy, 11, 69-83.







  • Odum, H. T. (1988). Self-organization, transformity, and information. Science, 242, 1132–1139.


  • Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (1984). Order out of chaos: Man's new dialogue with nature. Bantam Books.


  • Szargut, J. (1989). Chemical exergies of the elements. Applied Energy, 32(4), 269-286.







 

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