Origin and history of maxwells demon the idea was first floated in december 11, 1867, by maxwell in a letter to peter guthrie tait, his fellow scientist. He imagined that a demon separated the fast moving molecules from the slow moving ones causing one side to heat up from the motion and the other side to cool down. This problem has led to very interesting links between physics, information theory and the theory of computation from concepts of information entropy brillouin, szilard, shannon to reversible computing landauer, bennett. Entropy, information, computing princeton series in. Mixing myth, entropy, and angry birds, randall schweller brings a novel perspective to international studies.
And indeed it turns out there are deep connections between the second law and information theory the science of knowing when you know. This is an introduction to those papers, from the perspective of the author. Now it is appropriate to return to the roots of the problem. Entropy, information, computing princeton series in physics paperback july 14, 2014. Maxwells demon is a thought experiment created by the physicist james clerk maxwell in. Weinberg on the decrease of entropy in a thermodynamic system by the intervention of intelligent beings l. One of the best established facts in thermodynamics is that it is impossible in a system. A thought experiment that seems to defy the 2nd law of thermodynamics if youre seeing this message, it means were having trouble loading external resources on our website. Although lot 49 is an experimental book that plays with narrative form and the nature of fiction, it is also totally spot on as far as social detail goes. The actual passage from the book has been quoted often enough that i will not repeat it once again here, but ill offer the basic original concept. James clerk maxwell first wrote about his demon in 1871 in his book, theory of heat. The later area obtained the technical term entropy as a metaphor borrowed from its classical origin in thermodynamics. About 120 years ago, james clerk maxwell introduced his now legendary.
In the thought experiment, a demon controls a small door between two chambers of gas. The story of information maxwells demon william mintz. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Scientists in japan are the first to have succeeded in converting information into free energy in an experiment that verifies the. About 120 years ago, james clerk maxwell introduced his hypothetical demon as a challenge to the second law of thermodynamics. Maxwell s equations and the lorentz force law along with the rest of classical electromagnetism are extraordinarily successful at explaining and predicting a variety of phenomena. Maxwells demon was maxwells thought experiment for the second law of thermodynamics. With their input, maxwell presented the idea to the public in 1972 through a book titled theory of heat. Entropy, time, and maxwells demon a users guide to the.
More information can be found at the website btw the book that i was reading that was the missing piece for me was faraday, maxwell and the. Every time the demon has to decide whether or not to let an atom through his trap door, he takes a measurement and makes a recording of the speed of the atom. We also highlight some of the recent work that explores the role of information, illuminated by maxwells demon, in the arena of quantum information theory. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer scienceand linkages have been established between maxwells demon and each of these disciplines. If successful, they decrease the total entropy of the universe, thereby violating the. Maxwells demon was born in 1867 and still thrives in modern physics. The demon of the title was the creation of james clerk maxwell in 1867. An annotated chronological bibliography provides a colourful perspective on maxwell s demon and a rich trail of citations for further study. Scientists probe information retained by maxwells demon.
Pynchon uses maxwells demon to synthesize the fields of thermodynamics and information theory together into a mysterious unity. Mar 12, 2018 origin and history of maxwells demon the idea was first floated in december 11, 1867, by maxwell in a letter to peter guthrie tait, his fellow scientist. An annotated chronological bibliography provides a colourful perspective on maxwells demon and a rich trail of citations for further study. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. Entropy, information, computing makes the key literature easily available and helps with the crossfertilisation of ideas in different disciplines. The computer in the bathtub includes many relevant parameters, such as heat, entropy, and information. The book is named for james clerk maxwell s little imaginary genius, who could make your latte boil out of your travel mug given a chance. Maxwells demon 2 entropy, classical and quantum information, computing. The equations provide a mathematical model for electric, optical, and radio technologies, such as power generation, electric motors, wireless communication, lenses, radar etc. A machine powered by maxwell s demon plays a role in thomas pynchon s novel the crying of lot 49. Written like a screenplay, it was published in 2006 plot summary. Schweller explores in his provocative assessment of.
One such experiment was maxwells demon, and since its mention by maxwell in his theory of heat in 1871, it has provided countless individuals with enjoyment and physics with new insights into how we can resolve tricky situations. This book brings together 25 reprints, including seminal works by maxwell, which address the demon as it affects concepts in quantum physics and information science. Maxwells demon demonstration turns information into energy. Scientists peek inside the mind of maxwells demon science news. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer scienceand linkages have been established between maxwells demon. He plays important roles in clarifying the connections between two theories.
As individual gas molecules approach the door, the demon quickly opens and shuts the door so that only fast molecules are. These can be characterized in terms of the dominant explanatory concept. It was later unveiled to the public in maxwells book on thermodynamics titled theory of heat, published in 1872. It was imagined by james clerk maxwell in 1871, to illustrate the possibility of violating the second law of thermodynamics. Schematic figure of maxwells demon thought experiment. If youre behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains. A thought experiment that seems to defy the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Apr 19, 2016 about 120 years ago, james clerk maxwell introduced his hypothetical demon as a challenge to the second law of thermodynamics. If youre seeing this message, it means were having trouble loading external resources on our website. Maxwells equations are a set of coupled partial differential equations that, together with the lorentz force law, form the foundation of classical electromagnetism, classical optics, and electric circuits.
Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer science and linkages have been established between maxwells demon and each of these disciplines. Aside from the obvious operating difficulties that are waved away by. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer science, and links have been established between maxwell s demon and each of these disciplines. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer science, and links have been established between maxwell s demon and. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Maxwells demon, hypothetical intelligent being or a functionally equivalent device capable of detecting and reacting to the motions of individual molecules. During the first epoch discussions centering on maxwells demon undoubtedly contributed to the muchneeded shaping and sharpening of. Jul 23, 2007 maxwell s demon was born in 1867 and still thrives in modern physics. No accompanying aapt reprint book will be available, because an.
Entropy from information theory entere d the scene as well. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer science and linkages have been established between maxwell s demon and each of these disciplines. I still dont have the whole story about why this is important or how it connects to everything else, but you can only do so much in one book. Maxwell s demon in 1867 james clerk maxwell suggested that a sentient being capable of. Sep 03, 2015 there is no relationship between maxwell s demon a paradox and dna a molecule that doesnt do anything on its own, unless you want to think of ways to specifically apply the essence of the paradox to a process involving dna. In one of the most heavily quoted passages in physics, maxwell wrote. Pdf maxwells demon and the second law of thermodynamics. Maxwells demon news newspapers books scholar jstor march 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message. Nov 15, 2010 scientists in japan are the first to have succeeded in converting information into free energy in an experiment that verifies the maxwell demon thought experiment devised in 1867. Interweaving his theory of global disorder with issues on the world stagecoupled with a disquisition on board games. Maxwells demon 2 entropy, classical and quantum information, computing crc press book. Buy maxwells demon 2 entropy, classical and quantum information, computing on.
Maxwells demon and the second law of thermodynamics. There is no relationship between maxwells demon a paradox and dna a molecule that doesnt do anything on its own, unless you want to think of ways to specifically apply the essence of the paradox to a process involving dna. But the textbook accounts already rely on our thermodynamic experience, only. Maxwell s demon was maxwell s thought experiment for the second law of thermodynamics. Interweaving his theory of global disorder with issues on the world stagecoupled. Maxwells demon and the golden apple will appeal to leaders of multinational corporations and government programs as well as instructors. Interweaving his theory of global disorder with issues on the world stagecoupled with a disquisition on board games and the cell phone app angry birdsschwellers thesis yields astonishing insights. Demon theory is a novel written by native american author stephen graham jones. Oct 15, 2018 they are cheap and allow scientists to test out extreme conditions in physics to make sure that they work there also. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer science, and links have been established between maxwells demon and each of these disciplines. The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of an isolated system never decreases, because isolated systems spontaneously evolve toward thermodyn.
Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Entropy, information, computing princeton legacy library. Entropy, information, computing, princeton university press, princeton, 1990. The actual changing of neural pathways in the demon is a reconfiguration of matter and therefore energy. Maxwells demon is a tiny but thoroughly disruptive thought experiment that suggests the second law of thermodynamics, the law that governs the flow of time itself, can be broken. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer scienceand linkages have been established between maxwell s demon and each of these disciplines. The crying of lot 49 gives him the opportunity to parody the culture in which he became immersed, however briefly. Science news was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and. The demon simply opened and closed an opening between two portions of a vessel filled with air so that. Since the crux of the matter is the information the demon must possess, you may see why the article is contained in a book on information theory. Gabor entropy, information, and szilards paradox j. In 1871, maxwell again wrote to john william strutt on the same idea.
At one point, oedipa walks across the campus of the university of california. By detecting the positions and velocities of gas molecules in two neighboring chambers and using that information to time the opening and closing of a trapdoor that separates them, a tiny, intelligent being could, in theory, sort molecules by velocity. The demons seductive quality makes it appealing to physical scientists, engineers, computer scientists. Maxwell s demon is a thought experiment created by the physicist james clerk maxwell in 1867 in which he suggested how the second law of thermodynamics might hypothetically be violated. The hardcover of the maxwells demon and the golden apple.
This is the story of a groundbreaking scientist, a great contributor to our understanding of the way the world works, and his duplicitous demon. Sociologist pierre bourdieu incorporated maxwell s demon into his work, raisons pratiques as a metaphor for the socioeconomic inequality among students, as maintained by the school system, the economy, and families. It came near the book s end in a section called limitation of the second law of thermodynamics. It is widely accepted that, if the demon can achieve this at all, he can do so without violating the second law only because of a counterbalancing price that must be paid to erase information when the demons memory is reset at the end of his operating cycle. Entropy, classical and quantum information, computing retains many of the seminal papers that appeared in the first. Professor maxwells duplicitous demon audiobook by brian. The demon was introduced to a public audience by james clerk maxwell in his 1871 book, theory of heat. The experiment first appeared in an exchange of letters between maxwell and peter tait around 1867. Over years ago, james clerk maxwell introduced his hypothetical demon as a challenge to the scope of the second law of thermodynamics. This was presented in his 1871 book theory of heat and is as follows. Just what exactly will follow the american century. One such experiment was maxwells demon, and since its mention by maxwell in his theory of heat in 1871. Denbigh on the relation between information and energy systems.
This book gives a concise overview of maxwells demon and its impact on the. In his 1867 thought experiment, maxwells demon, james clerk maxwell. Maxwells demon 2 entropy, classical and quantum information, computing by harvey leff, 9780750307598, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Maxwells demon 2 entropy, classical and quantum information. The very existence of that recording whether in the brain of the demon, on a pad of paper, or in a computer adds information to the universe, and information and entropy are the same thing. Posted by allan angus on dec 22, 2012 in science 0 comments. A collection of recent papers revisit how to quantify the relationship between information and work in the light of modern information theory, socalled singleshot information theory. What i got from this book is that maxwells demon has the appearance of reversing entropy in unpredictable ways.
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