<p>A good place to start looking at these ideas is this <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1311.3533.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">paper</a>, though it talks about the (related) idea of information and thermodynamics. It relates fundamental computational tasks (eg. editing a bit) to fundamental thermodynamic tasks (eg. energy extraction). Following the links within the paper should give reasonable access to literature on the subject. Also, see this <a href="https://www.research.ibm.com/people/b/bennetc/bennettc1982666c3d53.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">paper</a>.</p>

<p>EDIT - There is also discussion regarding this on Scott Aaronson's blog <a href="https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=3327" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=3327</a>. See the comments section too. </p>

<p>References - </p>

<p><a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1311.3533.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1</a>. The Hot Bit 1 : The Szilard-Landauer Correspondence,
M Gopalkrishnan - arXiv preprint arXiv:1311.3533, 2013 </p>

<p><a href="https://www.research.ibm.com/people/b/bennetc/bennettc1982666c3d53.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2</a>. The Thermodynamics of Computation — a Review, C. Bennet - 
International Journal of Theoretical Physics 21.12 (1982): 905-940.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-10T08:29:08.750Z
Can you please give the references of the papers you cite so your answer remains valid even if the link does not work anymore?
holf
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-10T09:34:04.080Z
Good point. Added the references.
Abhishek Shetty
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-10T05:50:44.667Z
2017-12-10T15:16:06.820Z
2017-12-10T15:16:06.820Z
Abhishek Shetty
<p>What is the best source -in terms of quality- that would explain the argument that uses computations concepts to demonstrate that the Maxwell's Demon does not break the second law of thermodynamics? I have an impression that this argument has some flaw, because all the sources I know use natural language. However, I would like some source that demonstrates formally. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-09T23:10:53.013Z
Lienhard Pagel in his book "Information ist Energie" gives a quantum mechanical analysis of Maxwell's Demon. He uses his information concept instead of a pure computation concept. If I remember correctly, he explains it both in natural language and with formulas and computations.
Thomas Klimpel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-10T15:07:18.557Z
May be these two blog entries of Scott Aaronson are of interest: https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1818  https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=762
Lamine
<soft-question><big-picture><it.information-theory><physics>
The Maxwell's Demon and Computer Science
Raphael Augusto
# The Maxwell's Demon and Computer Science

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-09)

What is the best source -in terms of quality- that would explain the argument that uses computations concepts to demonstrate that the Maxwell's Demon does not break the second law of thermodynamics? I have an impression that this argument has some flaw, because all the sources I know use natural language. However, I would like some source that demonstrates formally.

**Tags:** soft-question, big-picture, it.information-theory, physics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Lienhard Pagel in his book "Information ist Energie" gives a quantum mechanical analysis of Maxwell's Demon. He uses his information concept instead of a pure computation concept. If I remember correctly, he explains it both in natural language and with formulas and computations.  
> **username_2**: May be these two blog entries of Scott Aaronson are of interest: https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1818  https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=762  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-12-10. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

A good place to start looking at these ideas is this [paper](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1311.3533.pdf), though it talks about the (related) idea of information and thermodynamics. It relates fundamental computational tasks (eg. editing a bit) to fundamental thermodynamic tasks (eg. energy extraction). Following the links within the paper should give reasonable access to literature on the subject. Also, see this [paper](https://www.research.ibm.com/people/b/bennetc/bennettc1982666c3d53.pdf).

EDIT - There is also discussion regarding this on Scott Aaronson's blog <https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=3327>. See the comments section too.

References -

[1](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1311.3533.pdf). The Hot Bit 1 : The Szilard-Landauer Correspondence,
M Gopalkrishnan - arXiv preprint arXiv:1311.3533, 2013

[2](https://www.research.ibm.com/people/b/bennetc/bennettc1982666c3d53.pdf). The Thermodynamics of Computation — a Review, C. Bennet -
International Journal of Theoretical Physics 21.12 (1982): 905-940.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Can you please give the references of the papers you cite so your answer remains valid even if the link does not work anymore?  
> **username_3**: Good point. Added the references.  

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