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arXiv · 1112.0462

The thermodynamic cost of measurements

Léo Granger·Holger Kantz
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Abstract

The measurement of thermal fluctuations provides information about the microscopic state of a thermodynamic system and can be used in order to extract work from a single heat bath in a suitable cyclic process. We present a minimal framework for the modeling of a measurement device and we propose a protocol for the measurement of thermal fluctuations. In this framework, the measurement of thermal fluctuations naturally leads to the dissipation of work. We illustrate this framework on a simple two states system inspired by the Szilard's information engine.

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Léo Granger, Holger Kantz. 2011-12-02. The thermodynamic cost of measurements. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.84.061110

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