Storing Cookies (See : http://ec.europa.eu/ipg/basics/legal/cookies/index_en.htm ) help us to bring you our services at overunity.com . If you use this website and our services you declare yourself okay with using cookies .More Infos here:
https://overunity.com/5553/privacy-policy/
If you do not agree with storing cookies, please LEAVE this website now. From the 25th of May 2018, every existing user has to accept the GDPR agreement at first login. If a user is unwilling to accept the GDPR, he should email us and request to erase his account. Many thanks for your understanding

User Menu

Custom Search

Author Topic: Second law challenge and cold cathode  (Read 6761 times)

exnihiloest

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 715
Second law challenge and cold cathode
« on: April 25, 2009, 12:34:09 PM »
A recent paper from an italian physicist proposes a simple Maxwell demon. A capacitor constituted of two dissimilar electrodes, an ordinary electrode and one with a low work function (cold cathode), charges itself when placed in a single thermal bath:
http://arxiv.org/abs/0904.3188

A chinese team also tempted similar but more complicated experiments, in which the electrodes were identical and the asymetry was realised by a magnetic field:
http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0311104
http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0509111

I had also this idea before and I never saw why it should not work. The interest of the italian paper is that the problem is clearly posed: the charge of the capacitor extracts usable work from heat and that requires entropy decreasing.


Philip Hardcastle

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 326
Re: Second law challenge and cold cathode
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2009, 09:51:19 AM »
Hi exnihiloest,

I have a thread on here about Fu who I have had many coversations with in the past.

As to Prof Germano his device will not work IMO and I have had long debates with him on that subject.

If you want to read why go to fizzx.com and read the topic "isothermal thermionic converters"

Regards

Phil H