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Abstract
Maxwell's demon is an imaginary entity that reduces the entropy of a system and generates free energy in the system. About 150 years after its proposal, theoretical studies explained the physical validity of Maxwell's demon in the context of information thermodynamics, and there have been successful experimental demonstrations of energy generation by the demon. The demon's next task is to convert the generated free energy to work that acts on the surroundings. Here, we demonstrate that Maxwell's demon can generate and output electric current and power with individual randomly moving electrons in small transistors. Real-time monitoring of electron motion shows that two transistors functioning as gates that control an electron's trajectory so that an electron moves directionally. A numerical calculation reveals that power generation is increased by miniaturizing the room in which the electrons are partitioned. These results suggest that evolving transistor-miniaturization technology can increase the demon's power output. The study of Maxwell's demon provides a link between information thermodynamics and modern electronics. Using integrated nanometer-scale transistors in a single electron box configuration, Chida et al., demonstrate the extraction of electrical power by Maxwell's demon.
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McGrath T, Jones NS, Ten Wolde PR, Ouldridge TE. Biochemical Machines for the Interconversion of Mutual Information and Work. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2017; 118:028101. [PMID: 28128612 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.118.028101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
We propose a physically realizable information-driven device consisting of an enzyme in a chemical bath, interacting with pairs of molecules prepared in correlated states. These correlations persist without direct interaction and thus store free energy equal to the mutual information. The enzyme can harness this free energy, and that stored in the individual molecular states, to do chemical work. Alternatively, the enzyme can use the chemical driving to create mutual information. A modified system can function without external intervention, approaching biological systems more closely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas McGrath
- Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Nick S Jones
- Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | | | - Thomas E Ouldridge
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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Camati PA, Peterson JPS, Batalhão TB, Micadei K, Souza AM, Sarthour RS, Oliveira IS, Serra RM. Experimental Rectification of Entropy Production by Maxwell's Demon in a Quantum System. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2016; 117:240502. [PMID: 28009191 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.117.240502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Maxwell's demon explores the role of information in physical processes. Employing information about microscopic degrees of freedom, this "intelligent observer" is capable of compensating entropy production (or extracting work), apparently challenging the second law of thermodynamics. In a modern standpoint, it is regarded as a feedback control mechanism and the limits of thermodynamics are recast incorporating information-to-energy conversion. We derive a trade-off relation between information-theoretic quantities empowering the design of an efficient Maxwell's demon in a quantum system. The demon is experimentally implemented as a spin-1/2 quantum memory that acquires information, and employs it to control the dynamics of another spin-1/2 system, through a natural interaction. Noise and imperfections in this protocol are investigated by the assessment of its effectiveness. This realization provides experimental evidence that the irreversibility in a nonequilibrium dynamics can be mitigated by assessing microscopic information and applying a feed-forward strategy at the quantum scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrice A Camati
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Avenida dos Estados 5001, 09210-580 Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - John P S Peterson
- Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud 150, 22290-180 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tiago B Batalhão
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Avenida dos Estados 5001, 09210-580 Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Kaonan Micadei
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Avenida dos Estados 5001, 09210-580 Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Alexandre M Souza
- Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud 150, 22290-180 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Roberto S Sarthour
- Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud 150, 22290-180 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Ivan S Oliveira
- Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rua Dr. Xavier Sigaud 150, 22290-180 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Roberto M Serra
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Avenida dos Estados 5001, 09210-580 Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
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