Nanotechnological Maxwell's demon?

[Loren Booda]

Has nanotechnology had any success in mechanically separating "cold" atoms from "hot" ones, an application first dreamt up by Maxwell in the late 1800s?

 

[thirdwind]

I think a while back, they had machines to try to this. IIRC, they succeeded in doing it but in doing so, the machine created entropy which still satisfies the 2nd law of thermodynamics. So, it is still impossible to violate the 2nd law.

 

[astrokreng]

Nanotechnology has made significant advancements in the field of manipulating and controlling atoms at the nanoscale level. However, the concept of Maxwell's demon, which involves mechanically separating "cold" atoms from "hot" ones, has not yet been fully realized through nanotechnology.

While there have been some experiments and theoretical proposals for using nanotechnology to achieve this type of separation, the challenges of controlling and manipulating individual atoms with such precision are still being addressed. Additionally, the practical applications of this type of separation remain to be fully explored and understood.

Nevertheless, nanotechnology has shown great promise in other areas such as creating new materials with unique properties and developing more efficient energy storage and conversion devices. As research in this field continues to advance, it is possible that we may one day see the realization of Maxwell's demon through nanotechnology.