Definitions for maxwell's demon
max·well's de·mon

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Maxwell's demonnoun

   an imaginary creature that controls a small hole in a partition that divides a chamber filled with gas into two parts and allows fast molecules to move in one direction and slow molecules to move in the other direction through the hole; this would result in one part of the container becoming warmer and the other cooler, thus decreasing entropy and violating the second law of thermodynamics

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Maxwell's demon

   Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment that would hypothetically violate the second law of thermodynamics. It was proposed by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1867. In his first letter Maxwell called the demon a "finite being", while the Daemon name was first used by Lord Kelvin.In the thought experiment, a demon controls a small massless door between two chambers of gas. As individual gas molecules (or atoms) approach the door, the demon quickly opens and closes the door to allow only fast-moving molecules to pass through in one direction, and only slow-moving molecules to pass through in the other. Because the kinetic temperature of a gas depends on the velocities of its constituent molecules, the demon's actions cause one chamber to warm up and the other to cool down. This would decrease the total entropy of the system, without applying any work, thereby violating the second law of thermodynamics. The concept of Maxwell's demon has provoked substantial debate in the philosophy of science and theoretical physics, which continues to the present day. It stimulated work on the relationship between thermodynamics and information theory. Most scientists argue, on theoretical grounds, that no practical device can violate the second law in this way. Other researchers have implemented forms of Maxwell's demon in experiments, though they all differ from the thought experiment to some extent and none have been shown to violate the second law.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Maxwell's demon

   In the philosophy of thermal and statistical physics, Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment created by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell to "show that the Second Law of Thermodynamics has only a statistical certainty". It demonstrates Maxwell's point by hypothetically describing how to violate the Second Law: a container of gas molecules at equilibrium, is divided into two parts by an insulated wall, with a door that can be opened and closed by what came to be called "Maxwell's demon". The demon opens the door to allow only the faster than average molecules to flow through to a favored side of the chamber, and only the slower than average molecules to the other side, causing the favored side to gradually heat up while the other side cools down, thus decreasing entropy.

Matched Categories

1. • Imaginary Being

How to pronounce maxwell's demon?

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Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of maxwell's demon in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of maxwell's demon in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=maxwell's demon
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell'S_Demon
3. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=maxwell's demon