What is the meaning of Maxwell's demon?

noun

  • An imaginary creature that controls a small hole in a partition that divides a chamber filled with gas into two parts and allows fast molecules to move in one direction and slow molecules to move in the other direction through the hole; this would result in one part of the container becoming warmer and the other cooler, thus decreasing entropy and violating the second law of thermodynamics. .
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APAWordNet. (2010). maxwell's demon. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/maxwell%27s_demon/definitions/1227656
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "maxwell's demon" http://smartdefine.org/maxwell%27s_demon/definitions/1227656 (accessed September 21, 2026).
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