Experimental realization of a Szilard engine with a single electron

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Sep 23;111(38):13786-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1406966111. Epub 2014 Sep 8.

Abstract

The most succinct manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics is the limitation imposed by the Landauer principle on the amount of heat a Maxwell demon (MD) can convert into free energy per single bit of information obtained in a measurement. We propose and realize an electronic MD based on a single-electron box operated as a Szilard engine, where kBT ln 2 of heat is extracted from the reservoir at temperature T per one bit of created information. The information is encoded in the position of an extra electron in the box.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.