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The Remote Maxwell Demon as Energy Down-Converter

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Abstract

It is demonstrated that Maxwell’s demon can be used to allow a machine to extract energy from a heat bath by use of information that is processed by the demon at a remote location. The model proposed here effectively replaces transmission of energy by transmission of information. For that we use a feedback protocol that enables a net gain by stimulating emission in selected fluctuations around thermal equilibrium. We estimate the down conversion rate and the efficiency of energy extraction from the heat bath.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Ralf Eichhorn, Holger Müller and Stefan Scherer for helpful discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    S. Hossenfelder

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  1. S. Hossenfelder
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Correspondence to S. Hossenfelder.

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Hossenfelder, S. The Remote Maxwell Demon as Energy Down-Converter. Found Phys 46, 505–516 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-015-9981-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-015-9981-7

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