This discussion clarifies the relationship between Brownian motion, osmosis, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It establishes that diffusion, driven by Brownian motion, increases the entropy of a system by moving particles from high to low concentration areas. The conversation also highlights the role of semipermeable membranes in this process, emphasizing that while they facilitate energy conversion, they do not create energy, aligning with Maxwell's demon concept. The thermodynamic favorability of diffusion towards higher entropy is a key takeaway.
PREREQUISITESStudents and professionals in physics, chemistry, and biology, particularly those interested in thermodynamics, particle dynamics, and energy conversion processes.
The membrane is just a lever for converting the osmotic potential energy (that you prepared) into gravitational potential energy (which you know how to harness). You can tell that it isn't creating energy by the fact that, unlike Maxwell's demon, the operation of your device can't repeat in a closed cycle (you have to perform more work to separate back the solutes first).meni ohana said:if the membrane got holes alowing only small objects move both sides and big stay in one side. you build a pressure, when you remove the membrane there is energy [...] and Maxwell was right, there can be a demon, even if it is in a small case