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Maxwell's Demon Soon A Reality?
DMiax writes "Reuters reports that a group of scientists from University of Edimburgh may have realized a nanomolecular engine - a Maxwell's Demon. The device selects and traps other molecules based on their direction of motion. Physicist James Maxwell first imagined the nano-scale device in 1867, and the research team cites him as the basis for their understanding of how lights, heat, and molecules interact. The device is powered by light, and may spur advances in nano-scale technology to new heights in coming years."
"Journalist misses whole point of Maxwells demon, news at 11"
"Physics is to math as sex is to masturbation." -R. Feynman
is what I call a Maxwell's Demon
Pity the researchers weren't able to create Maxwell's lesser-known "Angel", a device that -- using no power at all -- sits on a barrier and sorts molecules based on their goodness. All matter composed of "charm", "up" and "top" quarks collect on one side, whereas matter composed of the hateful 'strange', 'down', and 'bottom' quarks collect on the other.
This would totally change the world in the short term by finally providing a means to mass-produce holy water, and eventually even purifying the entire world of 'evil' particles (ie collect all the hateful particles together, send them up on the 'space elevator to heaven' and launch into the void).
Forget thermodynamics, is the command to start the demon /etc/init.d/maxwell start?
I notice there wasn't a schematic or diagram of the engine, but I scoured the web and managed to find one.
Here it is:
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liqbase
Terrorists can't threaten a country's freedom and democracy. Only lawmakers and voters can do that.
This catches molecules instead of sorting them. It should be called Maxwell's cup.
God spoke to me.
Good point. Yours *is* pretty big.
Now, as for my question, did you have a relevant comment to add?
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
I think we're seeing Cowboy Neal's Demon, a software utility that moves links about on a page to create infinite money for the developer.
Of course, such a thing can never happen in real life, so it's all theoretical.
"Lisa! In this house we obey the law of thermodymanics" - Homer Simpson.
My cat didn't come home last week and might be dead right now, you insensitive clod!
I think I saw Mr. Shroedinger put it in a box...
Of Code And Men
As long as there's still some hope that the cat may be alive, it will exist in a superposition such that the living-cat component has some non-zero weight, which we will call XL.
Poser!!!! ;-)
It's all a matter of being extremely nearsighted.
Well, I got to go back to my sorting.