Statically Mechanics Essay

Demons

There are several theories in physics that apply probability theory to various problems. Examples of this can be statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics. Physicist James Clerk Maxwell came up with a thought experiment in the late nineteenth century that has puzzled people for over a century. The thought experiment deals with how someone might be able to violate the second law of thermodynamics by creating a situation that might decrease entropy in the system. Entropy can be thought of as the tendency for any system to loose energy. Entropy is a function of state, like the internal energy. It measures the relative degree of order (as opposed to disorder) of the system when in this state. An understanding of the meaning of entropy thus requires some appreciation of the way systems can be described microscopically (Sethna).

Maxwell had the insight to think of two systems placed side by side. He thought of two containers of gas side by side, both in equilibrium. The containers would be separated by an insulated door of some kind that could be opened and closed quickly. When the door was opened, it could be done so in a way that only allowed some of the molecules to enter the other side of the chamber. The molecules that were allowed to pass through the system would be the faster moving particles while the particles that remained would be the slower ones. This would result in the particles on one side of the chamber, the side that the faster particles would rest in, would gradually heat up while the other side cooled and decrease the total systems entropy.

The Experiment's Purpose

The experiment that Maxwell imagines deals with the average speed of molecules and how these are recorded as translating into heat and the temperature.However, if faster than average molecules are collected on one side of the container, then this would allow that side of the container to increase heat because it would have a greater proportion of the faster molecules. By contrast, the other side of the container would have the slower than average molecules and thus lose heat.

However the important part of the thought experiment is that both sides of the container would have slightly differing properties of temperature or pressure depending on the variances in the molecules speed. Thus, in one side of the container, there would be less entropy than otherwise because it is basically stealing the faster than average molecules from the other part of the container while replacing them with slower than average moving chemicals. Thus one side would not be subject to the normal entropy that would occur. As a result of the tank not undergoing entropy (at the same level) the assumption is made that the second law of thermodynamics can only be true based on statistical assumptions rather than in practice.

Figure 1 - Maxwell's Demon (Universe Review)

Discussion

In the work of Clausius, thermodynamics was considered to be completely universal and applicable without limit; just as Newton's law of gravitation applied to all matter in motion -- atoms, apples, and planets -- so too did thermodynamics apply to everything (Callender).The puzzle that Maxwell proposed help set up the framing of the conflicts between classical mechanics and thermodynamics. Many later physicists wondered in the second law of thermodynamics and even thermodynamics in general would apply to microscope systems. Maxwell himself believed that once humanity could witness the "micro-level" that these laws would break down. However, he didn't live long enough to see.

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