--%>

What is Maxwells demon

Maxwell's demon (J.C. Maxwell): A contemplation experiment describing the concepts of entropy. We contain a container of gas that is partitioned into two equivalent sides; each side is in thermal equilibrium with the other. The walls and the separation of the container are ideal insulators.

Now suppose there is a very small demon who is waiting at the separation next to a small trap door. He can close and open the door with slight (negligible) work. Let's state he opens the door to permit a fast-moving molecule to travel from the left side to the right, or for a slow-moving molecule to travel from the right side to the left, and remains it closed for all other molecules. The total effect would be a flow of heat -- from left side to the right -- even although the container was in thermal equilibrium. This is obviously a violation of the second law of thermodynamics.

Thus where did we go wrong? It turns out that information has to do with entropy also. In order to sort out the molecules according to speeds, the demon would be containing to keep a memory of them -- and it turns out that rise in entropy of the maintenance of this simple memory would be more than make up for the reduction in entropy due to the flow of heat.

   Related Questions in Physics

  • Q : Dynamic strain aging and the strain

    What is the basic difference among the dynamic strain aging and the strain aging?

  • Q : Explain the procedure to compute the

    Briefly explain the procedure to compute the tensile strength?

  • Q : What is basic SI unit of electric

    basic SI unit of electric current is termed as Ampere: A (after A.M. Ampere, 1775-1836) The basic SI unit of electric current, stated as the current that, when going via two infinitely-long parallel conductors of v

  • Q : What is Bernoulli's equation

    Bernoulli's equation - In an ir-rotational fluid, the sum of static pressure, the weight of the fluid per unit mass times the height and half of the density times the velocity squared is steady all through the fluid 

  • Q : Define Ideal gas constant or universal

    Define Ideal gas constant or universal molar gas constant? Ideal gas constant: or universal molar gas constant; R: The constant which appears in the ideal gas equation. It is equivalent to

  • Q : How energy transformed in windmills

    Explain how is energy transformed in the windmills?

  • Q : Development of Missile technology Name

    Name the women scientist who played the essential role in the development of Missile technology of India and is nick named as the ‘Missile Woman’?

  • Q : Weights in pounds of the liquid gallons

    Write down the weights in pounds of the liquid gallons? Briefly describe it.

  • Q : Describe Wien displacement law Wien

    Wien displacement law: For a blackbody, the product result of the wavelength corresponding to the maximum radiances and the thermodynamic temperature is constant, then the Wien displacement law constant. As an outcome, as the temperature increases, th

  • Q : Bragg's law Bragg's law - Whenever a

    Bragg's law - Whenever a beam of x-rays strikes a crystal surface in which the layers of ions or atoms are often separated, the maximum intensity of the reflected ray takes place when the complement of the angle of incidence, theta (θ), the wave