Physics

Maxwell's demon · 3D

512 elastic spheres move in three dimensions. A selective aperture separates fast and slow particles; compare temperatures and the cost of erasing information.

By Mykhailo Makarov

Actual application image

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Blue particles are slow; red particles are fast. The aperture sorts by speed without adding kinetic energy. Rotate the chamber to inspect the volume. Erasing decisions records a separate minimum heat cost.

Equations used in the module

Equations
3D ideal gas: T = 2 Ekin/(3 N kB)
S/kB = Σ N ln(V T^(3/2)/N) + constant
Qerase ≥ Nbits kB Tbath ln 2
Elastic XYZ collisions conserve Σ m v²/2

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