Related papers: What Maxwell's demon could do for you
We investigate the possibility that the observed behavior of test particles outside galaxies, which is usually explained by assuming the presence of dark matter, is the result of the dynamical evolution of particles in higher dimensional…
In Szilard's engine, a demon measures a one-particle gas and applies feedback to extract work from thermal fluctuations, embodying Maxwell's notion that information reduces thermodynamic entropy - an apparent second-law violation. The…
The limits of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which reigns undisputed in the macroscopic world, are investigated at the mesoscopic level, corresponding to spatial dimensions of a few microns. An extremely simple isolated system, modeled…
Maxwell's demon principle of extracting valuable resources through measuring fluctuations in the system already stimulated modern quantum physics. In contrast to classical physics, a free coupling to a probe and its free measurement…
We investigate the validity of the generalized second law of thermodynamics, in the cosmological scenario where dark energy interacts with both dark matter and radiation. Calculating separately the entropy variation for each fluid component…
We distinguish traditional implementations of autonomous Maxwell demons from related linear devices that were recently proposed, not relying on the notions of measurements and feedback control. In both cases a current seems to flow against…
The derivation of the Maxwell equations is reproduced whereby magnetic charges are included. This ansatz yields the results: 1) Longitudinal Ampere forces in a differential magnetostatic force law are improbable. Otherwise an electric…
Maxwell's demon (MD) has proven an instructive vehicle by which to explore the relationship between information theory and thermodynamics, fueling the possibility of information driven machines. A long standing debate has been the concern…
We study the quantum-mechanical problem of scattering caused by a localized obstacle that breaks spatial and temporal reversibility. Accordingly, we follow Maxwell's prescription to achieve a violation of the second law of thermodynamics by…
Black holes have often provided profound insights into the nature of gravity and the structure of space-time. The study of the mathematical properties of black objects is a major research theme of contemporary theoretical physics. This…
The generalized second law of thermodynamics for a system containing a black hole dynamical horizon is proposed in a covariant way. Its validity is also tested in case of adiabatically collapsing thick light shells.
Recently, in a letter to Nature, del Rio et al.8 exploited the quantum viewpoint of the old but well-known thought experiment of Maxwell's demon, a tiny "man-machine" that processes only a single unit of information. In their work, they…
Conservation laws are the pillars of physics. It's what we held on to when our imagination was challenged during the days of relativity or quantum mechanics. Their violation leads to the most absurd models, so excellently exercised in the…
The formulation of a complete theory of classical electromagnetism by Maxwell is one of the milestones of science. The capacity of many-body systems to provide emergent mini-universes with vacua quite distinct from the one we inhabit was…
Statistical mechanics descriptions of the second law of thermodynamics generally imply point-like particles driven by a dissipative overall mechanism for their simultaneous time-evolution. As the number of involved particles grows larger,…
The common saying, that information is power, takes a rigorous form in stochastic thermodynamics, where a quantitative equivalence between the two helps explain the paradox of Maxwell's demon in its ability to reduce entropy. In the present…
The second law of thermodynamics constitutes a fundamental principle of physics, precluding the existence of perpetual motion machines and providing a natural definition of the arrow of time. Its scope extends across virtually all areas of…
Trajectories of an overdamped particle in a highly unstable potential diverge so rapidly, that the variance of position grows much faster than its mean. Description of the dynamics by moments is therefore not informative. Instead, we…
Recent theoretical progress in nonequilibrium thermodynamics, linking the physical principle of Maximum Entropy Production ("MEP") to the information-theoretical "MaxEnt" principle of scientific inference, together with conjectures from…
Autonomous Maxwell demon is a new type of information engine proposed by Mandal and Jarzynski, which can produce work by exploiting an information tape. Here, we show that a stochastic resetting mechanism can be used to improve the…