Here, the rate of entropy production is a key quantity. Sometimes, similar complex structures can be obtained spontaneously from self-assembly or self-organization processes being the time scales (and maybe also the length scale) of the organization the only perceptible difference. Self-organization is the formation of complex patterns and structures from a disordered state, which requires a nonequilibrium state (for example, a continuous supply of energy). Self-assembly is widely found in nature (for example, a virus can self-assemble from its constituent elements), but also it is of great practical interest for an easy and reproducible bottom-up fabrication of materials from nanoscopic building blocks (molecules or nanoparticles). The self-assembly process requires the presence of noise (i.e., a thermal bath) and thus entropy plays an essential role. Self-assembly consists in the emergence of a complex ordered organization in a thermodynamic equilibrium state starting from a disordered state. During the XXI century, the concepts of self-assembly and self-organization have flooded all branches of natural sciences, from biology to nanotechnology.

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