maxwell's demon

1 definition found

maxwell's demon - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  Maxwell's demon
      n 1: an imaginary creature that controls a small hole in a
           partition that divides a chamber filled with gas into two
           parts and allows fast molecules to move in one direction
           and slow molecules to move in the other direction through
           the hole; this would result in one part of the container
           becoming warmer and the other cooler, thus decreasing
           entropy and violating the second law of thermodynamics