--%>
Assignment Help - homework help

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 : Define Cosmological redshift

    Cosmological redshift: The effect where light emanates from a distant source appears redshifted since of the expansion of the space time itself.

    		•
  • Q : Fundamental principles of the regulation

    Describe the fundamental principles of the regulation? Briefly describe the principles?

    		•
  • Q : Dynamic strain aging and the strain

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

    		•
  • Q : Define Mole or SI unit of substance

    Mole: mol: The basic SI unit of substance, stated as the quantity of substance which contains as many elementary units (that is, atoms, molecules, ions, and so forth) as there are atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon-12.

    		•
  • Q : Explain Youngs experiment or

    Young's experiment: double-slit experiment (T. Young; 1801): A well-known experiment that exhibits the wave nature of light (and certainly of other particles). The light is passed from a small source into an opaque screen with the two thin slits. The

    		•
  • Q : Define Newton or SI unit of force

    Newton: N (after Sir I. Newton, 1642-1727): The derived SI unit of force, stated as the force needed to give a mass of 1 kg of an acceleration of 1 m/s2; it therefore has units of kg m/s2.

    		•
  • Q : Explain Right-hand rule Right-hand

    Right-hand rule: The trick for right-handed coordinate systems to establish which way the cross product of two three-vectors will be directed. There are some forms of this rule, and it can be exerted in many manners. If u and v are two vectors that ar

    		•
  • Q : What do you mean by the term density

    What do you mean by the term density? Briefly explain it.

    		•
  • Q : Explain Tachyon paradox Tachyon

    Tachyon paradox: The argument explaining that tachyons (should they subsist, of course) can’t carry an electric charge. For an imaginary-massed particle travelling faster than c, less energy the tachyon has, the faster it travels, till at zero e

    		•
  • Q : What is Magnetic monopole Magnetic

    Magnetic monopole: The hypothetical particle that comprises sources and sinks of the magnetic field. The magnetic monopoles have never been found, however would only cause pretty minor modifications to the Maxwell's equations. They also appear to be p

    		•