Sentence:  An isolated system contains <WSD>"negentropy</WSD>" if it reveals a possibility for doing mechanical or electrical work: ... A tank of compressed gas in a room at atmospheric pressure, a vacuum tank in a similar room, a charged battery, any device that can produce high grade energy (mechanical work) or be degraded by some irreversible process (thermal conduction, electrical resistivity, friction, viscosity) is a source of <WSD>negentropy</WSD>. ... If a living organism needs food, it is only for the <WSD>negentropy</WSD> it can get from it, and which is needed to make up for the losses due to mechanical work done, or simple degradation processes in the living system. Energy contained in food does not really matter, since energy is conserved and never gets lost, but <WSD>negentropy</WSD> is the important factor. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The difference between the entropy of a system and the maximum possible entropy of the same system. (from 1950s)