"The living state is a non-equilibrium steady state." Explain.

Explanation

There are thousands of chemical compounds called metabolites are present in a living organisms, at concentrations characteristic of each of them.
The blood concentration of glucose in a normal healthy individual is 4.5-5.0 mM, while that of hormones would be nanogramsm.
The most important fact of biological systems is that all living organisms exist in a steady-state characterised by concentrations of each of these biomolecules. These biomolecules are in a metabolic flux.
Any chemical or physical process moves spontaneously to equilibrium. The steady state is a non-equilibirium state.
One should remember from physics that systems at equilibrium cannot perform work.
As living organisms work continuously, they cannot afford to reach equilibrium. Hence the living state is a non-equilibrium steady-state to be able to perform work.
Living process is a constant effort to prevent falling into equilibrium. This is achieved by energy input. Metabolism provides mechanism for the production of energy.
Hence, living state cannot exist without metabolism.