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Information Loss as a Foundational Principle for the Second Law of Thermodynamics

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Abstract

In a previous paper (Duncan, T.L., Semura, J.S. in Entropy 6:21, 2004) we considered the question, “What underlying property of nature is responsible for the second law?” A simple answer can be stated in terms of information: The fundamental loss of information gives rise to the second law. This line of thinking highlights the existence of two independent but coupled sets of laws: Information dynamics and energy dynamics. The distinction helps shed light on certain foundational questions in statistical mechanics. For example, the confusion surrounding previous “derivations” of the second law from energy dynamics can be resolved by noting that such derivations incorporate one or more assumptions that correspond to the loss of information. In this paper we further develop and explore the perspective in which the second law is fundamentally a law of information dynamics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Science Education, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 97207-0751, USA

    T. L. Duncan

  2. Department of Physics, Pacific University, 2043 College Way, Forest Grove, OR, 97116, USA

    T. L. Duncan

  3. Department of Physics, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 97207-0751, USA

    J. S. Semura

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  1. T. L. Duncan
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  2. J. S. Semura
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Correspondence to T. L. Duncan.

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Duncan, T.L., Semura, J.S. Information Loss as a Foundational Principle for the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Found Phys 37, 1767–1773 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-007-9159-z

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