Maxwell's Demon

arXiv:2605.17196v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: This work provides an overview of key historical developments in the formulation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, focusing on the notorious challenge of ``Maxwell's Demon'', a hypothetical creature who could presumably violate that law. It begins by recalling Maxwell's challenge and discussing the apparent loophole in the Second Law that appears to make such a violation possible. An alternative formulation of the Demon challenge by Szilard is considered, along with his attempted defeat of the Demon through reference to measurement. A similar effort by Brillouin is also analyzed. The proposal of Bennett to defeat the Demon through the requirement of memory erasure is critically discussed. Finally, it is proposed that the Second Law gains a firm foundation through neglected features of quantum theory. In particular, an application of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is shown to decisively defeat the Demon, as well as to serve as justification for Landauer's Principle, albeit in terms distinct from the usual computational formulation.

Abstract:This work provides an overview of key historical developments in the formulation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, focusing on the notorious challenge of ``Maxwell's Demon'', a hypothetical creature who could presumably violate that law. It begins by recalling Maxwell's challenge and discussing the apparent loophole in the Second Law that appears to make such a violation possible. An alternative formulation of the Demon challenge by Szilard is considered, along with his attempted defeat of the Demon through reference to measurement. A similar effort by Brillouin is also analyzed. The proposal of Bennett to defeat the Demon through the requirement of memory erasure is critically discussed. Finally, it is proposed that the Second Law gains a firm foundation through neglected features of quantum theory. In particular, an application of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is shown to decisively defeat the Demon, as well as to serve as justification for Landauer's Principle, albeit in terms distinct from the usual computational formulation.

Chapter 44, "Maxwell's Demon," published in Comprehensive Philosophy of Science (Elsevier, 2026). Final preprint version (some references added). Published version is available at: this https URL

Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability (physics.data-an); History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)

arXiv:2605.17196 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2605.17196v2 [quant-ph] for this version)

From: R. E. Kastner [view email] [v1] Sat, 16 May 2026 23:49:20 UTC (668 KB) [v2] Sun, 13 Sep 2026 19:45:12 UTC (668 KB)

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Maxwell's Demon

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