Abstract
In the reading selection that follows, from the second half of Chap. 22, Maxwell develops the kinetic theory in more detail, explaining how it may be used to understand material properties (such as the viscosity and specific heat capacity of a gas) and natural processes (such as diffusion, evaporation and electrolysis). Perhaps most interestingly, near the end of this chapter, he introduces what is now referred to as “Maxwell’s Demon,” a tiny intelligent being which seemingly has the ability to violate the second law of thermodynamics. Does it? Also, in the final part of this chapter,Maxwell considers the broader implications of accepting the molecular theory of matter. To what surprising conclusion is he led? Do you agree with Maxwell’s conclusion?
The exact equality of each molecule to all others of the same kind gives it, as Sir John Herschel has well said, the essential character of a manufactured article.
—James Clerk Maxwell
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
A very interesting and comprehensive treatment of the concept of the atom since the time of the ancient greeks is given in Melsen, A. G., From Atomos to Atom, Duquesne University Press, Pittsburg, 1952.
- 2.
Maxwell here refers to page 183 in Chap. XI in his Theory of Heat, where he shows that the difference between the specific heats of a gas at constant pressure and at constant temperature is given by \(c_p - c_v = R\), the ideal gas constant.
- 3.
Gustav Heinrich Wiedemann (1826–1899) was a physicist, writer and editor of scientific periodicals. He carried out significant work on the thermal conductivity of metals and was one of the founders of the Berlin Physical Society.
- 4.
See Chap. XVI of Maxwell’s Theory of Heat, included in Chap. 13 of the present volume.
- 5.
See Brown, R., A brief account of microsopical observations made in the months of June, July and August 1827, on the particles contained in the pollen of plants; and on the general existence of active molecules in organic and inorganic bodies, Philosophical Magazine Series 2, 4(21), 1828.
- 6.
You might with to look ahead to the random walk dice game in Ex. 15.1.
- 7.
Equation. 11.12 is derived in Sect. 15.6 of Reif, F., Fundamentals of statistical and thermal physics, McGraw-Hill, 1965.
- 8.
The viscosity of various liquids can be found in Haynes, W. M. (Ed.), The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 95 ed., The Chemical Rubber Company, 2014.
- 9.
Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) first referred to Maxwell’s intelligent molecule-sorting agent as “Maxwell’s demon.” See Thomson, S. W., Kinetic Theory of the Dissipation of Energy, Nature, pp. 441–444, 1874. and also Thomson, S. W., The Sorting Demon of Maxwell, Proceedings of the Royal Institution, ix, 113, 1879.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kuehn, K. (2016). Molecules and Maxwell’s Demon. In: A Student's Guide Through the Great Physics Texts. Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21828-1_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21828-1_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-21827-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-21828-1
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)