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 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 "hot" molecules of gas to flow through to a favoured side of the chamber, causing that side to gradually heat up while the other side cools down, thus decreasing entropy.
Read more about Maxwell's Demon: Origin and History of The Idea, Original Thought Experiment, Criticism and Development, Applications, Experimental Work, Adams and The Demon As Historical Metaphor, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words maxwell and/or demon:
“Hey, Steve, can a woman go nuts from gettin’ sawed in half too many times?”
—Griffin Jay, Maxwell Shane (1905–1983)
“The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well? You may say the wisest thing you can, old man,—you who have lived seventy years, not without honor of a kind,—I hear an irresistible voice which invites me away from all that.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)