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Old 11-28-2017, 12:23 PM   #41 (permalink)
freebeard
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
The simple machine, consisting of a tiny paddle wheel and a ratchet, appears to be an example of a Maxwell's demon, able to extract useful work from random fluctuations (heat) in a system at thermal equilibrium in violation of the second law of thermodynamics.
An [non-theoretical] example of a Maxwell's demon, theRanque-Hilsch vortex tube:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_tube

Separation of a compressed gas into a hot stream and a cold stream

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