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Entropy 2004, 6(1), 102-115; doi:10.3390/e6010102
Article
A Modified Szilard's Engine: Measurement, Information, and Maxwell's Demon
Los Alamos Economic Development Corporation, 127 Eastgate Dr., Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
Received: 1 July 2003 / Accepted: 23 December 2003 / Published: 23 March 2004
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantum Limits to the Second Law of Thermodynamics)
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Abstract: Using an isolated measurement process, I've calculated the effect measurement has on entropy for the multi-cylinder Szilard engine. This calculation shows that the system of cylinders possesses an entropy associated with cylinder total energy states, and that it records information transferred at measurement. Contrary to other's results, I've found that the apparatus loses entropy due to measurement. The Second Law of Thermodynamics may be preserved if Maxwell's demon gains entropy moving the engine partition.
Keywords: Szilard's engine; Maxwell's demon; quantum measurement; information theory
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MDPI and ACS Style
Devereux, M. A Modified Szilard's Engine: Measurement, Information, and Maxwell's Demon. Entropy 2004, 6, 102-115.
AMA StyleDevereux M. A Modified Szilard's Engine: Measurement, Information, and Maxwell's Demon. Entropy. 2004; 6(1):102-115.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDevereux, Michael. 2004. "A Modified Szilard's Engine: Measurement, Information, and Maxwell's Demon." Entropy 6, no. 1: 102-115.