Maxwell’s Demon
E1000655
Maxwell’s Demon is a famous thought experiment in thermodynamics that imagines an intelligent being seemingly able to violate the second law of thermodynamics by sorting fast and slow gas molecules without expending energy.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Maxwell’s Demon canonical | 1 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
hypothetical being
ⓘ
thought experiment ⓘ |
| action |
opens and closes a door between compartments
ⓘ
sorts fast and slow molecules ⓘ |
| actsOn | gas molecules ⓘ |
| apparentEffect |
apparent violation of the second law of thermodynamics
ⓘ
creation of temperature difference without work ⓘ decrease of entropy in one compartment ⓘ |
| describedIn | Theory of Heat ⓘ |
| describedInAuthor | James Clerk Maxwell NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discussedIn |
history of physics
ⓘ
philosophy of science ⓘ |
| field |
physics
ⓘ
statistical mechanics ⓘ thermodynamics ⓘ |
| firstPublicationYear | 1871 ⓘ |
| hasAgentType |
intelligent being
ⓘ
microscopic gatekeeper ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
Maxwell demon
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Maxwell’s daemon NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| inspiredConcept |
information entropy
ⓘ
information thermodynamics ⓘ physical nature of information ⓘ |
| proposalYear | 1867 ⓘ |
| proposedBy | James Clerk Maxwell NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| purpose |
to challenge the second law of thermodynamics
ⓘ
to illustrate the statistical nature of entropy ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Boltzmann entropy
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Brownian ratchet NERFINISHED ⓘ Landauer’s principle NERFINISHED ⓘ Shannon information ⓘ Szilard engine NERFINISHED ⓘ entropy ⓘ information ⓘ information engine ⓘ microscopic reversibility ⓘ statistical fluctuations ⓘ thermodynamics of computation ⓘ |
| relatedToLaw | second law of thermodynamics ⓘ |
| resolutionIdea |
erasure of information increases entropy
ⓘ
information processing has thermodynamic cost ⓘ |
| resolutionProposedBy |
Charles H. Bennett
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Leo Szilard NERFINISHED ⓘ Rolf Landauer NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| status | does not actually violate the second law when information costs are included ⓘ |
| systemType | gas in two chambers ⓘ |
| usedAs |
pedagogical tool in physics education
ⓘ
philosophical example in foundations of physics ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.