Heating without heat: Thermodynamics of passive energy filters between finite systems

Passive filters allowing the exchange of particles in a narrow band of energy are currently used in microrefrigerators and energy transducers. In this Rapid Communication, we analyze their thermal properties using linear irreversible thermodynamics and kinetic theory, and discuss a striking phenomen...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Muñoz Tapia, R., Rodríguez Parrondo, Juan Manuel, Brito López, Ricardo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/18332
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/18332
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:536
Physics
Fluids
Plasmas
Mathematical
Termodinámica
2213 Termodinámica
Descripción
Sumario:Passive filters allowing the exchange of particles in a narrow band of energy are currently used in microrefrigerators and energy transducers. In this Rapid Communication, we analyze their thermal properties using linear irreversible thermodynamics and kinetic theory, and discuss a striking phenomenon: the possibility of simultaneously increasing or decreasing the temperatures of two systems without any supply of energy. This occurs when the filter induces a flow of particles whose energy is between the average energies of the two systems. Here we show that this selective transfer of particles does not need the action of any sort of Maxwell demon and can be carried out by passive filters without compromising the second law of thermodynamics. This phenomenon allows us to design cycles between two reservoirs at temperatures T-1 < T-2 that are able to reach temperatures below T-1 or above T-2.