Variations on a demonic theme: Szilard's other engines
Autor: | Kyle J. Ray, James P. Crutchfield |
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Rok vydání: | 2020 |
Předmět: |
Work (thermodynamics)
education.field_of_study Entropy production Computer science Applied Mathematics Population Chaotic General Physics and Astronomy Statistical and Nonlinear Physics 01 natural sciences Ideal gas 010305 fluids & plasmas Piecewise linear function 0103 physical sciences Erasure Statistical physics 010306 general physics education Mathematical Physics Entropy rate |
Zdroj: | Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.). 30(9) |
ISSN: | 1089-7682 |
Popis: | Szilard's now-famous single-molecule engine was only the first of three constructions he introduced in 1929 to resolve several challenges arising from Maxwell's demon paradox. Given that it has been thoroughly analyzed, we analyze Szilard's remaining two demon models. We show that the second one, though a markedly different implementation employing a population of distinct molecular species and semipermeable membranes, is informationally and thermodynamically equivalent to an ideal gas of the single-molecule engines. One concludes that (i) it reduces to a chaotic dynamical system-called the Szilard Map, a composite of three piecewise linear maps and associated thermodynamic transformations that implement measurement, control, and erasure; (ii) its transitory functioning as an engine that converts disorganized heat energy to work is governed by the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy rate; (iii) the demon's minimum necessary "intelligence" for optimal functioning is given by the engine's statistical complexity; and (iv) its functioning saturates thermodynamic bounds and so it is a minimal, optimal implementation. We show that Szilard's third construction is rather different and addresses the fundamental issue raised by the first two: the link between entropy production and the measurement task required to implement either of his engines. The analysis gives insight into designing and implementing novel nanoscale information engines by investigating the relationships between the demon's memory, the nature of the "working fluid," and the thermodynamic costs of erasure and measurement. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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