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Entropy02:39

Entropy

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Salt particles that have dissolved in water never spontaneously come back together in solution to reform solid particles. Moreover, a gas that has expanded in a vacuum remains dispersed and never spontaneously reassembles. The unidirectional nature of these phenomena is the result of a thermodynamic state function called entropy (S). Entropy is the measure of the extent to which the energy is dispersed throughout a system, or in other words, it is proportional to the degree of disorder of a...
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The first law of thermodynamics is quantitatively formulated via an equation relating the internal energy of a system, the heat exchanged by it, and the work done on it. A quantitative formulation of the second law of thermodynamics leads to defining a state function, the entropy.
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
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Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing02:39

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Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
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Mixing is a fascinating phenomenon in thermodynamics, particularly when considering the Gibbs energy of a mixture at constant temperature and pressure. This energy, denoted as G, tends to decrease during spontaneous mixing processes, offering insights into the composition changes that occur.Imagine two ideal gases, initially separated in different containers, with amounts nA and nB, respectively, both at a temperature T and pressure p. The chemical potentials of these gases have their 'pure'...
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Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics01:20

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The second law of thermodynamics can be stated quantitatively using the concept of entropy. Entropy is the measure of disorder of the system.
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Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics01:26

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Consider an isolated system in which a hot object is placed in contact with a cold one. This is an irreversible process that eventually leads both objects to reach the same equilibrium temperature. It is crucial to note that the constituents of any substance exhibit increased disorder at higher temperatures. As a cold substance absorbs heat, its constituents become more disordered. The energy transfer from a hotter object to a cooler one increases the system's disorder or randomness. This...
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Cooling an Optically Trapped Ultracold Fermi Gas by Periodical Driving
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Entanglement enhances cooling in microscopic quantum refrigerators.

Nicolas Brunner1, Marcus Huber2, Noah Linden3

  • 1Département de Physique Théorique, Université de Genève, 1211 Genève, Switzerland and H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL, United Kingdom.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
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PubMed
Summary

Entanglement hinders efficiency in quantum refrigerators near the Carnot limit but enhances cooling and energy transport away from it. This quantum effect allows refrigerators to outperform classical models, with entanglement quantifying the cooling boost.

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Area of Science:

  • Quantum thermodynamics
  • Quantum information science
  • Condensed matter physics

Background:

  • Small self-contained quantum thermal machines operate using only thermal baths and incoherent interactions.
  • Their efficiency and performance characteristics are areas of active research.
  • The role of quantum phenomena like entanglement is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the specific role of quantum entanglement in the performance of small self-contained quantum refrigerators.
  • To determine if and when entanglement can enhance the cooling capabilities or efficiency of these devices.
  • To compare quantum refrigerator performance with and without entanglement, and against classical limits.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical analysis of a small self-contained quantum refrigerator model.
  • Investigation of the relationship between entanglement and thermodynamic performance metrics (efficiency, cooling power).
  • Comparison of quantum refrigerator performance with classical counterparts and the Carnot limit.

Main Results:

  • Entanglement is found to be detrimental to efficiency when operating close to the Carnot limit.
  • Away from the Carnot regime, entanglement significantly enhances cooling and energy transport.
  • The degree of entanglement directly quantifies the enhancement in cooling performance.

Conclusions:

  • Quantum refrigerators can outperform classical ones, particularly when utilizing entanglement away from the Carnot limit.
  • Entanglement is not universally beneficial for efficiency but is crucial for enhanced performance in specific regimes.
  • The amount of entanglement serves as a direct measure of the cooling enhancement achievable by a quantum refrigerator.