Over 130 years ago, James Clerk Maxwell introduced his hypothetical "demon" as a challenge to the scope of the second law of thermodynamics. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer science, and links have been established between Maxwell's demon and each of

About 120 years ago, James Clerk Maxwell introduced his now legendary hypothetical "demon" as a challenge to the integrity of the second law of thermodynamics. Fascination with the demon persisted throughout the development of statistical and quantum physics, information theory, and computer science--and linkages have been established between Maxwell's demon and each of these disciplines. The demon's seductive quality makes it appealing to physical scientists, engineers, computer scientists, biologists, psychologists, and historians and philosophers of science. Until now its important source material has been scattered throughout diverse journals. This book brings under one cover twenty-five reprints, including seminal works by Maxwell and William Thomson; historical reviews by Martin Klein, Edward Daub, and Peter Heimann; information theoretic contributions by Leo Szilard, Leon Brillouin, Dennis Gabor, and Jerome Rothstein; and innovations by Rolf Landauer and Charles Bennett illustrating linkages with the limits of computation. An introductory chapter summarizes the demon's life, from Maxwell's illustration of the second law's statistical nature to the most recent "exorcism" of the demon based on a need periodically to erase its memory. An annotated chronological bibliography is included. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Energy is typically regarded as understandable, despite its multiple forms of storage and transfer. Entropy, however, is an enigma, in part because of the common view that it represents disorder. That view is flawed and hides entropy’s connection with energy. In fact, macroscopic matter stores internal energy, and that matter’s entropy is determined by how the energy is stored. Energy and entropy are intimately linked. Energy and Entropy: A Dynamic Duo illuminates connections between energy and entropy for students, teachers, and researchers. Conceptual understanding is emphasised where possible through examples, analogies, figures, and key points. Features: Qualitative demonstration that entropy is linked to spatial and temporal energy spreading, with equilibrium corresponding to the most equitable distribution of energy, which corresponds to maximum entropy Analysis of energy and entropy of matter and photons, with examples ranging from rubber bands, cryogenic cooling, and incandescent lamps to Hawking radiation of black holes Unique coverage of numerical entropy, the 3rd law of thermodynamics, entropic force, dimensionless entropy, free energy, and fluctuations, from Maxwell's demon to Brownian ratchets, plus attempts to violate the second law of thermodynamics

Eagerly awaited, the new edition of this successful text is now available in paperback. Maxwell's Demon is a character in an 1867 thought experiment by the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, meant to raise questions about the second law of thermodynamics. This book explains the connection between Maxwell's Demon and the role of the observer and quantum eraser, showing that information science, thermodynamics and quantum physics are closely related. We often hear phrases like quantum weirdness and the strange world of the quantum. A fact that is not so widely appreciated is that quantum mechanics can (and does) shed light on problems such as the Maxwell Demon Paradox of thermodynamics, the seemingly spiritual nature of information, and even, perhaps, new insights into the existence of Mind! The common denominator of all this is the fact that information is a real physical quantity. Information is more than something just in our mind; it is the essence of, and in many ways more general than the concept of entropy. By focusing on entropy, information, and observation, the authors bring a unique perspective to this subject, and offer insight into the strange ways of the quantum which will not only fascinate scientists but lay persons as well. Key features of the new paperback edition: Explains the connection between Maxwell's Demon and the role of the observer Takes a completely new approach to quantum mechanics and quantum information theory which is of interest to students from undergraduate level onwards as well as researchers and lay persons Written by two authors who approach the topic from two different angles and combine both the scholar's and the layperson's perspective in a most interesting and enjoyable fashion Treats central concepts such as entropy, information and intelligence in a comprehensible and entertaining way Includes fresh biographical material on key researchers like Planck, Schrödinger, and others is presented at the beginning of each chapter Mathematical formulae have been removed and replaced by a history of famous Erwin Schrödinger Praise for the previous edition: "The Demon and the Quantum is accessible to a large spectrum of readers of PHYSICS TODAY; it is worthwhile reading?" Physics Today

There continue at present many developments in the area of quantum mechanics and quantum dynamics in particular, of a very fundamental nature, all the way from implications for the foundations of physics to the influence of quantum mechanics on emerging technologies, such as the areas of quantum semiconductors and quantum computing, both of which are very important examples. It is hoped that the papers in this volume will be able to provide a much needed resource for researchers with regard to current fields of research in this dynamic area.

This thesis presents a general theory of nonequilibrium thermodynamics for information processing. Ever since Maxwell's demon was proposed in the nineteenth century, the relationship between thermodynamics and information has attracted much attention because it concerns the foundation of the second law of thermodynamics. From the modern point of view, Maxwell's demon is formulated as an information processing device that performs measurement and feedback at the level of thermal fluctuations. By unifying information theory, measurement theory, and the recently developed theory of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, the author has constructed a theory of "information thermodynamics," in which information contents and thermodynamic variables are treated on an equal footing. In particular, the maximum work that can be extracted by the demon and the minimum work that is needed for measurement and information erasure by the demon has been determined. Additionally, generalizations of nonequilibrium relations such as a Jarzynski equality for classical stochastic systems in the presence of feedback control have been derived. One of the generalized equalities has recently been verified experimentally by using sub-micron colloidal particles. The results obtained serve as fundamental principles for information processing in small thermodynamic systems, and are applicable to nanomachines and nanodevices.

The principal message of this book is that thermodynamics and statistical mechanics will benefit from replacing the unfortunate, misleading and mysterious term “entropy” with a more familiar, meaningful and appropriate term such as information, missing information or uncertainty. This replacement would facilitate the interpretation of the “driving force” of many processes in terms of informational changes and dispel the mystery that has always enshrouded entropy.It has been 140 years since Clausius coined the term “entropy”; almost 50 years since Shannon developed the mathematical theory of “information” — subsequently renamed “entropy”. In this book, the author advocates replacing “entropy” by “information”, a term that has become widely used in many branches of science.The author also takes a new and bold approach to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Information is used not only as a tool for predicting distributions but as the fundamental cornerstone concept of thermodynamics, held until now by the term “entropy”.The topics covered include the fundamentals of probability and information theory; the general concept of information as well as the particular concept of information as applied in thermodynamics; the re-derivation of the Sackur-Tetrode equation for the entropy of an ideal gas from purely informational arguments; the fundamental formalism of statistical mechanics; and many examples of simple processes the “driving force” for which is analyzed in terms of information.

Is the universe actually a giant quantum computer? According to Seth Lloyd, the answer is yes. All interactions between particles in the universe, Lloyd explains, convey not only energy but also information–in other words, particles not only collide, they compute. What is the entire universe computing, ultimately? “Its own dynamical evolution,” he says. “As the computation proceeds, reality unfolds.” Programming the Universe, a wonderfully accessible book, presents an original and compelling vision of reality, revealing our world in an entirely new light.

A clear account of what has been discovered in recent years about quantum theory, its counter-intuitive features - non-locality, indeterminism, intrinsic uncertainty - and what it tells us about the universe. The book also explains how these ideas have led to a new subject of limitless possibilities - quantum information theory.

Quantum Thermodynamics is a novel research field which explores the emergence of thermodynamics from quantum theory and addresses thermodynamic phenomena which appear in finite-size, non-equilibrium and finite-time contexts. Blending together elements from open quantum systems, statistical mechanics, quantum many-body physics, and quantum information theory, it pinpoints thermodynamic advantages and barriers emerging from genuinely quantum properties such as quantum coherence and correlations. Owing to recent experimental efforts, the field is moving quickly towards practical applications, such as nano-scale heat devices, or thermodynamically optimised protocols for emergent quantum technologies. Starting from the basics, the present volume reviews some of the most recent developments, as well as some of the most important open problems in quantum thermodynamics. The self-contained chapters provide concise and topical introductions to researchers who are new to the field. Experts will find them useful as a reference for the current state-of-the-art. In six sections the book covers topics such as quantum heat engines and refrigerators, fluctuation theorems, the emergence of thermodynamic equilibrium, thermodynamics of strongly coupled systems, as well as various information theoretic approaches including Landauer's principle and thermal operations. It concludes with a section dedicated to recent quantum thermodynamics experiments and experimental prospects on a variety of platforms ranging from cold atoms to photonic systems, and NV centres.