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Szilard's demon revisited

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Abstract

We show that piston fluctuations are of crucial importance in the analysis of a Szilard engine. Some engines which do not require information in order to perform a Szilard cycle actually do not work. We pinpoint the mechanism and stages which require work investment when a measuring instrument is reset.

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Berger, J. Szilard's demon revisited. Int J Theor Phys 29, 985–995 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00673684

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00673684

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