The Hungry Daemon: An energy-harvesting active particle must obey the Second Law of Thermodynamics
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866908526194982912 |
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| author | Bienewald, Simon Fieguth, Diego Marcel Anglin, James R. |
| author_facet | Bienewald, Simon Fieguth, Diego Marcel Anglin, James R. |
| contents | Thought experiments like Maxwell's Demon or the Feynman-Smoluchowski Ratchet can help in pursuing the microscopic origin of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Here we present a more sophisticated physical system than a ratchet, consisting of a Hamiltonian active particle which can harvest energy from an environment which may be in thermal equilibrium at a single temperature. We show that while a phenomenological description would seem to allow the system to operate as a Perpetual Motion Machine of the Second Kind, a full mechanical analysis confirms that this is impossible, and that perpetual energy harvesting can only occur if the environment has an energetic population inversion similar to a lasing medium. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_22416 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The Hungry Daemon: An energy-harvesting active particle must obey the Second Law of Thermodynamics Bienewald, Simon Fieguth, Diego Marcel Anglin, James R. Statistical Mechanics Classical Physics Thought experiments like Maxwell's Demon or the Feynman-Smoluchowski Ratchet can help in pursuing the microscopic origin of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Here we present a more sophisticated physical system than a ratchet, consisting of a Hamiltonian active particle which can harvest energy from an environment which may be in thermal equilibrium at a single temperature. We show that while a phenomenological description would seem to allow the system to operate as a Perpetual Motion Machine of the Second Kind, a full mechanical analysis confirms that this is impossible, and that perpetual energy harvesting can only occur if the environment has an energetic population inversion similar to a lasing medium. |
| title | The Hungry Daemon: An energy-harvesting active particle must obey the Second Law of Thermodynamics |
| topic | Statistical Mechanics Classical Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.22416 |