The Powder Toy

Maxwell's Demon by PTuniverse

PTuniverse
PTuniverse
70 / 14
3rd Dec 2014
4th Dec 2014
A simulation of Maxwell's Demon, a thought experiment created by James Clerk Maxwell which demonstrates the ability of a hypothetical finite being (the demon) capable of violating The Second Law of Thermodynamics which has been proven today to not do so.
maxwell demon science physics thought experiment electronic simulation whocaresburnit

Comments

  • spoogda4
    spoogda4     7th Dec 2014
    therefore making the hot body hotter and the cold body colder
  • spoogda4
    spoogda4     7th Dec 2014
    @sentinal-5: in essence, all the particles with a higher velocity will be on the left, and all the particles with a slower velocity will be on the right, regardless of temperature
  • spoogda4
    spoogda4     7th Dec 2014
    @sentinal-5: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/thermodynamics/v/maxwell-s-demon
  • sentinal-5
    sentinal-5     7th Dec 2014
    i know i'm missing something here. everyone else seems to get it. can someone please explain?
  • sentinal-5
    sentinal-5     7th Dec 2014
    i still don't see how this is breaking any of the laws of thermodynamics.. :b if you had two buckets of marbles, some hot and some cold, you could do exactly this. entropy would increase, but that happens ALL the time... if you boil water; BAM! seperated the cold steam and the hot pan. how is that breaking the laws of thermodynamics? or is it just because it would need data on all the atoms? it's a thought experiment, they break fundamental laws all the time.
  • Demoman200
    Demoman200     7th Dec 2014
    It never occured to me that TPT would allow breaking of the second law of thermodynamics. It seems really obvious now :P Also, part of the reason that this is impossible IRL is because the "demon" itself needs exact information on every atom, which would require a large increase in entropy.
  • thepowderscientist
    thepowderscientist     6th Dec 2014
    Well... powdertoys battarie has infinite powe... and pipe has infinite power too also detectors hehe
  • sentinal-5
    sentinal-5     6th Dec 2014
    there is not an infinite quantity of matter, but energy cannot be crated or destroyed, ergo, infinite energy. not infinite in any one three dimentional moment, but infinite throughout time. there always has been energy, and there always will be. however, it will not always take the same forms. i.e. the heat death of the universe and the big crunch/bang (the big bounce)
  • XxoriginxX
    XxoriginxX     6th Dec 2014
    Easy- you can't.
  • tothemyers
    tothemyers     6th Dec 2014
    So, here's a question then! Current theory states that there is not one universe, but MANY! An INFINITE amount of universes! So, if there are infinite universes, there is infinite matter and therefore infinite energy! So, what if you could transcend universes, journey to entirely other universes, and steal their energy and matter? What then of the laws of thermodynamics?