Maxwell's demon (nonfiction): Difference between revisions
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[[File:Maxwell's_demon.svg|250px|thumb|Diagram of Maxwell's demon at work.]] | |||
In the philosophy of thermal and statistical [[Physics (nonfiction)|physics]], Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment created by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell in which he suggested how the Second Law of Thermodynamics might hypothetically be violated. | In the philosophy of thermal and statistical [[Physics (nonfiction)|physics]], Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment created by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell in which he suggested how the Second Law of Thermodynamics might hypothetically be violated. | ||
Revision as of 18:29, 10 September 2016
In the philosophy of thermal and statistical physics, Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment created by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell in which he suggested how the Second Law of Thermodynamics might hypothetically be violated.
In the thought experiment, a demon controls a small door between two chambers of gas.
As individual gas molecules approach the door, the demon quickly opens and shuts the door so that fast molecules pass into the other chamber, while slow molecules remain in the first chamber.
Because faster molecules are hotter, the demon's behavior causes one chamber to warm up as the other cools, thus decreasing entropy and violating the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
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External links:
- Maxwell's demon @ Wikipedia