Maxwell's demon

Max·well's demon

noun

An imaginary creature who is able to sort hot molecules from cold molecules without expending energy, thus bringing about a general decrease in entropy and violating the second law of thermodynamics.

Origin of Maxwell's demon

AfterJames Clerk Maxwell

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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"Maxwell\'s demon." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/maxwell-s-demon>.

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Maxwell\'s demon. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/maxwell-s-demon

An imaginary creature who is able to sort fast-moving molecules from slow-moving molecules without adding any energy to the system. Such a creature could separate a gas into two containers, one containing hot gas and the other cold gas, bringing about a general decrease in entropy and violating the second law of thermodynamics; however, such a creature is impossible, since the act of observing the molecules to detect their speed must add energy to the system.

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"Maxwell\'s demon." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/maxwell-s-demon>.

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Maxwell\'s demon. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/maxwell-s-demon

Noun

(plural Maxwell's demons)

A hypothetical creature created for a thought experiment. Maxwell's demon, if it existed, would act as a sort of gate guard by sorting between higher-energy molecules and lower-energy molecules within an enclosed space. Because such a sorting process would tend to decrease entropy, it would violate the second law of thermodynamics.

Origin

Named after physicist James Clerk Maxwell and demon, and probably from Greek daemon, a mythological being intermediate between gods and men.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"Maxwell\'s demon." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/maxwell-s-demon>.

APA Style

Maxwell\'s demon. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/maxwell-s-demon

Maxwell's demon

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Maxwell's demon

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