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"Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler", Albert Einstein
Browsing All Posts filed under »Statistical Mechanics«
Physicists create SQUID-like Bose–Einstein condensate
K. C. Wright, R. B. Blakestad, C. J. Lobb‡, W. D. Phillips, and G. K. Campbell We have observed well-defined phase slips between quantized persistent current states around a toroidal atomic (23Na) Bose-Einstein condensate. These phase slips are induced by a weak link (a localized region of reduced superfluid density) rotated slowly around the ring. […]
Ultracold fermions simulate spin–orbit coupling
September 5, 2012
Two independent groups of physicists are the first to use ultracold fermionic atoms to simulate “spin–orbit coupling” – an interaction that plays an important role in the electronic properties of solid materials. Both experiments were done by firing laser beams at the atoms, which caused their momentum to change by an amount that depends on […]
Video: Entropy in the kitchen
February 4, 2012
http://youtu.be/9R1OX4fZqKY Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk
Toward a fully relativistic theory of quantum information
December 9, 2011
Christoph Adami Information theory is a statistical theory dealing with the relative state of detectors and physical systems. Because of this physicality of information, the classical framework of Shannon needs to be extended to deal with quantum detectors, perhaps moving at relativistic speeds, or even within curved space-time. Considerable progress toward such a theory has […]
Sean Carroll: The Arrow of Time feat
November 14, 2011
MinutePhysics Why is the past different from the future? Caltech physicist Sean Carroll explains how the arrow of time is not an intrinsic property of physics, but rather an emergent feature. http://youtu.be/GdTMuivYF30
New Thermodynamic Paradigm of Chemical Equilibria
October 31, 2011
B. Zilbergleyt The paper presents new thermodynamic paradigm of chemical equilibrium, setting forth comprehensive basics of Discrete Thermodynamics of Chemical Equilibria (DTd). Along with previous results by the author during the last decade, this work contains also some new developments of DTd. Based on the Onsager’s constitutive equations, reformulated by the author thermodynamic affinity and […]
Maxwell’s Demon and Data Compression
October 24, 2011
Akio Hosoya , Koji Maruyama , Yutaka Shikano In an asymmetric Szilard engine model of Maxwell’s demon, we show the equivalence between information theoretical and thermodynamic entropies when the demon erases information optimally. The work gain by the engine can be exactly canceled out by the work necessary to reset demon’s memory after optimal data […]
New twist on Brownian motion seen for the first time
October 11, 2011
An important aspect of Brownian motion predicted decades ago has been observed for the first time by researchers in Europe. The team has measured how micrometre-sized spheres interact with a surrounding fluid and have shown that the spheres “remember” their previous motion. Their experimental technique, the researchers claim, could be used as a biophysical sensor. […]
What role does the third law of thermodynamics play in Szilard engines?
August 19, 2011
The role of the third law of thermodynamics in the Szilard engine has been addressed. If the ground state is non-degenerate, the entropy production defined as the work extractable from the engine divided by temperature vanishes as temperature approaches zero due to the third law. The degenerate ground state induced by the symmetry or by […]
Two “paradoxes” in Statistical Mechanics
June 9, 2011
When Boltzmann announced the H theorem a century ago, objections were raised against it on the ground that it led to “paradoxes”. These are the so-called “reversal paradox” and “recurrence paradox”, both based on the erroneous statement of the H theorem that dH/dt≤0 at all times. The correct statement of the H theorem, is free […]
January 19, 2013
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