Work and information processing in a solvable model of Maxwell's demon.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 22753515.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.1204263109 and PMC identifier 3406850.
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Abstract
We describe a minimal model of an autonomous Maxwell demon, a device that delivers work by rectifying thermal fluctuations while simultaneously writing information to a memory register. We solve exactly for the steady-state behavior of our model, and we construct its phase diagram. We find that our device can also act as a "Landauer eraser", using externally supplied work to remove information from the memory register. By exposing an explicit, transparent mechanism of operation, our model offers a simple paradigm for investigating the thermodynamics of information processing by small systems.
Medical subject headings
- Electronic Data Processing
- Hot Temperature
- Models, Theoretical
- Work